Changing Symphony
by water blue panda
Summary: Sequel to my first fanfic. Our white-haired heroine finds herself confused upon waking up without any memories of what has happened for the past several months. But she will soon be reunited with someone with the same problem. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She woke up in an empty alleyway in the rain, not knowing what had been going on. She was wearing some sort of uniform? It was just a black coat with more black clothes underneath. She looked up at the cloudy gray sky and collected herself.

"What am I doing here?" She asked herself. "Oh yeah, those weird things attacked me…I guess they knocked me out…" Then she thought about her situation a little more. "But didn't the weather channel tell me that it was going to be sunny this week? Guess they were wrong."

She got up and made use of the hood that the uniform came with. Then she walked over to the nearest newspaper stand and read the weather report. Rainy all week, and the week after, and the one after that…

"What is it with all this rainy weather? It isn't the rainy reason, because that doesn't come until June or July…" She looked at the date, which read…July. "What!? How can it be July!?" She put the newspaper back and walked off in a random direction. "How can it be July? When I ran off, it was somewhere in January…"

While pondering her thoughts, she ended up sitting down in a nearby swing set at the park. For roughly half an hour, she went back and forth trying to figure out why she couldn't figure out what happened for six and a half months. Then she remembered something.

"Oh no! I have to get back home! If I've been gone for six months then they must be really furious when I get back there!"

* * *

She ran back home, and where she thought her house would stand, instead had an empty shell of a house coated with graffiti and large cracks in the walls. In some way, she felt relieved, but at the same time, she felt emptier than the building in front of her. She dropped to her knees.

"What happened here? Did everyone just leave me?" Then she mentally slapped herself. "So what if they left me? I can just start up a new life somewhere! Yeah!"

After a few moments of standing in the pouring rain with her fists in the air, she took a deep breath and screamed.

* * *

After walking to an empty playground, she sat down on a swing set. She was confused and didn't know what to do. She just went back and forth on the swing.

"What happens now?" She asked herself. "Things never turn out the way I want it to. What's the point of—ACHOO!" Realizing that she never had her hood on, she thought about putting it on, but then she stopped herself. "On top of everything, I'm getting sick! Everything is going horribly wrong." She slowly looked up at the gray sky, and closed her eyes. "At least…the rain is relaxing. This feels so familiar…"

"So I'm not the only one."

She slowly turned to her left and found someone on the other swing. A young man with short blue hair that covered his right hair that had an emotionless face. To any other girl, they would think about him as either handsome or cute, and that they would blush as soon as their eyes met. But for her…

"STALKER!" Immediately she kicked him off his swing and ran off with his face on the ground.

She quickly ran away from the ominous young man until she could no longer see the playground. As she caught her breath, she looked back.

"There was something weird about him…" Then she scratched her head. "Maybe I'm just hungry. But I can't give up!" She pointed out into the sky. "I will not lose hope!"

* * *

She tried walking over to various hotels and tried to see which one of them had open rooms, but every time she checked, they all didn't have any room for her. After checking the 9th one in the city, she deemed herself crazy and tried to see if an apartment would buy her story and take her in.

"Oh well, here it goes…" She went through the door and found herself in a small room with cozy furniture and a desk being managed by someone with rather strange orange hairstyle with a part of his hair at the front standing straight up. Unfortunately, the man was sleeping.

She walked over and tapped the man on the shoulder. He only grunted and went back to sleep.

"Um…excuse me…" She tried waking him up again, but to no avail. "Excuse me. I would…um…" The man lifted his head, which also raised her hope, but then the man went back to sleep.

She was a bit depressed to find that he went back to sleep, and so she tried to raise her voice, but when she opened her mouth, someone else spoke out.

"Wakka, I thought I told you to watch out for whoever walks in." An eerie voice sounded out.

"GAH!" The man sat straight up, and then he looked straight at the girl in front of him. "Wow. Never thought someone would walk in our hotel like this, eh Lu?"

"I told you…" When the girl turned around, she was shocked to find an eerie woman wearing a black dress. "Call me Lulu. And whenever we have potential guests, you are supposed to help them out." The eerie woman turned around and looked at the frightened white-haired girl. "Sorry for the improper introductions. As you may know by know, the man at the desk is Wakka. I'm Lulu."

"N-nice to m-meet y-you!"

"This is the kind of hotel you can stay in for as long as you want to and check out whenever you want." Then Lulu pointed to an elevator. "But, you need to pull your own weight around here. That means you get yourself a job or two, and use the money you get out of it to pay the rent."

"I've never worked before, but I'll do my best!"

"That's all I needed to hear."

"Oh sure, lose the ghost with that kid around…" Wakka muttered.

"What was that?" Lulu glared at Wakka.

"N-nothing!"

"I'm pretty sure it was something." Then Lulu went ahead and threw what looked like a doll at Wakka. "Like it or not, you are my husband. And husbands aren't supposed to insult their wives!"

Not minding their argument and reasoning out that this place was as good a place to start as any, she brought herself to the elevator and sighed as the doors slowly closed. She thought about what was happening to her. She thought that this wouldn't be so bad. Upon leaving the elevator, she took the first door to her right, which had a luxurious room. Basically, the room fit her needs with dazzling furniture, her own computer, cable television, fully stocked fridge, closet already filled with clothes, and a CD rack filled up with her favorite artists.

"If I knew life would be this good, I would've come here a long time ago! Sure, I have to work my butt off but nothing is free in this world except the air I breathe!" She shouted while collapsing onto a comfortable bed. "But…I can't help but feel that something's wrong, or missing."

She rolled around on the bed many times over, falling off several times and messing up the blankets. After that she tried sitting upside-down on a chair, sticking her head out into the rain and hammering her head against the wall.

"Maybe it would come to me while I relax! That always comes through!"

As a result, she picked up a random book and curled up in bed. Unfortunately, the only things that popped into her head were the random facts that she read in a trivia book.

"So pounding your head against the wall can burn ninety-five calories per hour?" She asked herself. Then she sighed, "This isn't working. Wait a—I got it!" She jumped onto the bed and pointed her finger in the air. "I'm hungry! That's it! I need to eat until I can't eat anymore! Ramen time!"

She jumped off the bed and checked the kitchen, only to find out that there wasn't any ramen. She remedied this by changing clothes.

* * *

"Ramen time! Ramen time! Woohoo! Things are looking up already!" She skipped out in the rain.

Noticing the very small ramen-ya restaurant that only had six seats, she went straight over.

"Irasshai!" The cook greeted.

"I'll have one Shoyu ramen—" She noticed one other customer that was already eating ramen, and recognized him. "It's the stalker!"

The so-called stalker just took one look at her, and then he slurped up some noodles from his ramen. No longer seeing him as a threat, she calmly sat back down and waited for her noodles. But she was only calm for a moment because she suddenly flooded her mind with questions she thought she would never know the answer to. Who was this person?

"Um…who are you?" She nervously asked.

"To tell you the truth…" The young man swallowed down a small clump of noodles before continuing. "…I don't know."

"You…don't know?"

"Nope. But I intend to start up a new life. Doesn't seem that hard."

"It's harder than you think. Because you have to get a job so you can get money so you can get a house and furniture and clothes and—"

"Are you worrying about me?"

"Wha—"

"Sorry for the wait! Here's your ramen!"

A bowl was set in front of her, so she instinctively picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating. Unfortunately, that meant that she forgot her question to the ominous young man.

"This is so yummy! By the way, I was wondering—" She looked to her left and saw that the man was gone without a trace other than the half-eaten ramen he left behind. "How strange, but oh well! Ramen time!"

* * *

After eating, she asked what time it was, and found out that it just passed noon. She left shortly after that.

"Technically I just ate lunch." She stretched her arms out. "When it's this wet and rainy outside, you can always lose track of the time!"

She decided not to go back to the hotel just yet. Instead, she just wanted to walk about randomly. But instead of walking about like she thought she would, she was drawn to a certain area. The said area was a tunnel underneath a not-so-busy road. Both the road and the tunnel were at a far side of the city where there were hardly any visitors. Despite the fact that she was alone in the rain by this place with an empty feel, she was comforted by the fact that she had been here many times before.

"I haven't been here in a while, but I'm just happy no one else is here." She said to herself.

She silently walked through the dimly lit tunnel over to the other side, where she found a steep cliff. Despite the fact that the cliff could give way at any moment, she didn't mind, and she sat down at the edge, overlooking the city and its many colorful lights. To her, the lights reminded her of firework. The city itself blended in the bray sky and the rain that fell from it, so all the lights that were scattered into the sky made everything glow. She thought of it all as beautiful.

"I'm so glad that this place belongs to me. I don't have to share it with anyone and no one else can disturb me." As she spoke to herself, she closed her eyes and looked up. "This is so peaceful and wonderful. But in a way, this makes me feel somewhat sad. I wonder why. Maybe this means someone else has been here?"

She lied down on the soft and grassy cliff, and continued to keep her eyes shut. She dismissed her previous thoughts and replaced them with intentions of making the moment last before going back to her new home. She was saddened by the fact that this would not last forever, as she hoped it would.

"But that's childish." She mentally slapped herself. "Everything can't last forever. If everything did last forever, then we wouldn't appreciate the things that aren't supposed to last. Everything that's good always goes away at some point, unlike the bad things in the world. Hmm…with that said, does that mean I'll stay lonely for the rest of my life. This is just like that time…" She felt a small spark of warmth inside her, almost as if there was something familiar about her situation, but then it quickly went away. "…What time? I must be imagining things."

* * *

After the little ramen bout, the ominous blue-haired young man wandered the empty streets.

"So…was she worrying about me…or not?" He scratched his head. "Maybe it's part of her personality. I'm a complete stranger to her, and there's no other explanation…"

Like her, the young man wandered the streets. He didn't know why, but he was fascinated with everything he saw in the city. He guessed that it was probably because he didn't remember anything, besides his name, from before that morning. He had lost all his memory from anything prior to seeing a white-haired girl sitting alone in a playground.

"I felt so drawn to her." He looked up in the sky again. "Why?"

"That's because you love her!" A voice called out.

"Who's there?" He turned around to find someone wearing the exact same clothes as him. A black hooded leather cloak and black boots.

"You mean you seriously don't remember him?" Another voice called out. The owner of said voice stepped out of a portal of darkness.

The two ominous characters then took off their hoods, revealing a man with spiky red hair and two markings underneath his eyes. The other was a blonde teenager with blue eyes who had his hair sticking straight up on the right side.

"Talk about blank with a capital 'B'." The red haired man sighed. "Hmm…I feel as if I've said this before."

"Never mind that, Axel. Let's just get this over with." The blonde interrupted.

"Alright, alright…" With a wave of Axel's hand, a bunch of creatures in white jumpsuits appeared from the ground. They looked inhuman in many ways, lacking facial features, moving and twisting in a nearly impossible manner…

"What's going on?"

"We can only tell you after you've come with us." Roxas sighed. "Sorry …"

"Hmm…" Axel put his hand to his chin. "This may be easier than I thought it would be…" He snapped his hands and the white creatures went away.

"Axel, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Roxas." Axel turned towards Zexion. "Hey, if you're looking for some answers…you can just come with us!"

Zexion was put up with a tough decision. If he went with Axel and Roxas, he would be able to answer the questions he was asking himself. But then something else ran through his mind.

"That girl…" He thought a little harder. "I'm pretty sure she's important to me, but…in what way…?"

"Like I said before, we'll be able to answer everything if you just come with us." Axel put up a grin.

* * *

"_Don't worry…I will never leave you_."

"_Promise_?"

"_I promise_."

* * *

"Promise…" She said upon opening her eyes. She rubbed her eyes. "Did…did I fall asleep?" She looked up, and the sky was still gloomy and gray, not to mention rainy. "I wonder if it's ever going to stop raining…" Her mind started wandering. "What was that I said before? Hmm…a promise? Who did I make a promise with?"

Unable to come up with an answer, she took a deep breath. And then she figured that her answers would come to her in time. All she had to do was wait.

"But for how long?" She sat up and let her arms support her weight. But then she sighed and then she let her hands slide out from underneath her. But then she felt something on her right hand. When she looked over, she saw a simple blue umbrella, with a note attached.

"_It isn't good for you to catch a cold. I hope this helps the both of you_." She read out loud. "Well, whoever left this sure was nice! But…I wonder what they meant by 'both of us'…"

* * *

After another ten minutes of sitting on the cliff, she got up and walked off back into the streets of the city, with her new umbrella gift. On her way home, she started hearing a tapping sound. When she turned to her left, she saw the ominous young man coming up the sidewalk.

"Oh! Hello—" Suddenly, the man just rushed past her. "Wait—" Suddenly, white creatures rushed past her as well, which left her spinning. "Wh-Wha-What w-were those?" She asked herself as she stumbled to the ground. When she saw two more men approaching, she quickly got up, dodged them to the side, and threw her umbrella ahead of them, which made them trip.

"What the hell—?" Axel shouted upon recovering.

"I thought those stunts on TV aren't supposed to be imitated by the people watching…" Roxas muttered.

"Never mind that, Roxas! Who left an…umbrella?" Axel picked up said umbrella, and it was immediately snatched out of his hand from behind him. "Huh?" Both of them looked behind themselves and found an angry-looking white-haired girl.

"You! I thought you were dead!" Axel immediately got up and pointed.

"Never thought we'd see you again so soon…" Roxas soon got up as well. Then he stared.

"It's rude to point and stare!" The girl immediately got her umbrella and whacked them…hard. Which sent them both headfirst into the asphalt.

"What…the hell…was that?" Axel mumbled.

"I think we were 'owned'." Roxas answered.

"We were not owned!"

"Axel…seeing as she's here, shouldn't we leave and come back later?"

"Why should we do that?"

Roxas responded by whispering into Axel's ear. Axel then grinned and he got back up.

"Good point there." Axel said. "We'll be going now…" With a wave of his hand, he conjured up a portal. "We'll be back! So don't worry!"

She tried to stop them from leaving, but Roxas and Axel left silently, with Axel giving a wink. She was left flustered as to how her day got even stranger. She picked up her umbrella and opened it up again. She began walking in the direction of the strange creatures and the young man.

"Those creatures really were strange…were they monsters!?" She panicked and began running, but in her blind panic, she ran into a pole. "Ouch…"

She decided that it was safer to walk instead of run, but then she worried about the blue haired young man and ran into a pole every other minute. To anyone else, it would automatically label her as strange, weird or maybe even scatter-brained. But to her, all that mattered to her at the moment was making sure he was all right.

"I really hope he's okay…" When she finally found him, he was poking the corpse of some dead animal in the playground. "Oh. Thank goodness…" She sighed and her legs gave out from beneath her.

She was very, very tired from running all that way, so she decided that she would just lie there or another five minutes. She smiled at the thought of the umbrella being wasted on her. Because she would certainly get sick now. But instead of feeling the rain, she didn't feel anything. When she looked up, she was staring up at the blue haired young man.

"It wouldn't be good if you caught a cold."

"What about you?"

"I don't know if it would matter."

"Let's go to my…home. We can both get something warm there."

"Sure."

* * *

"We have a second guest? Two in one day? A new record." Wakka said upon looking at the two that just came through the doors.

"That's our first record." Lulu remarked.

"Nice to meet you—" The blue haired young man was but off by Lulu suddenly wagging a finger at him.

"You will work your weight here, and will pay for your own rent."

"I was expecting that. And yes I will agree to your terms." He bowed.

"I like the fact that you're well-mannered." Lulu turned behind her. "Unlike _some people_."

"Did you say something Lu?"

"Never mind." Lulu sighed.

* * *

He had already chosen his room, and not surprisingly it was right next to her room. His room had the same features as hers, but he had his own small library. When he went to take a shower, he didn't tell her, so his room was quiet. But with his room being quiet, she thought something happened to him again. She probably wouldn't worry if she heard the shower, but he took a fairly short shower.

"Is something wrong?" She asked upon entering his room. "Hello?" She walked around his room some more. She panicked and checked the areas of his room, including the bathroom.

The door was slightly ajar, so when she ran through the door, she fell over. Luckily she didn't fall to the floor. When she looked up, she was in his arms.

"Is anything wrong?" She immediately started blushing.

"N-Nothing's wrong!"

"Did you get a fever or something—"

"I'm fine!"

"Are you sure—" He was cut off by her slamming the bathroom door.

* * *

She trudged back to her own room. And leaned against her closed door.

"What was that? M-My heart was p-pounding! It was…unreal!" She placed her hand over heart. "What was going on? This day keeps getting stranger and stranger…" She slid down to the floor. "Dealing with this may not be as easy as I thought it would be…"

She jumped when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it up to find him.

"I'm fine, so you can…go away now." She said in a lowered voice.

"It's not that." He scratched his head. "Well, I thought that we could get to know each other, seeing as we should be seeing more of each other."

"Um…fine…"

She let him in, and they both sat on the bed.

"So…umm…" He struggled to think up a good question for her. "Err…what's your favorite color?" He smacked himself in the forehead. "That was stupid…"

"Blue."

"Eh?"

"Blue is my favorite color. So what's yours?"

"Umm…my favorite color…black."

"Black?"

"Umm…yeah…"

"Well I think it suits you."

"You think so?"

"For me it's just a hunch."

"So…anything else you want to talk about?"

"Umm…when do you think the rain will stop?"

"Actually, the rain stopped already."

"It did!?" She smacked herself in the forehead, in the same manner that he did earlier. "I'm such an idiot."

"Hey. You should look at this." He was already out on a balcony, and he motioned for her to join him.

"So what are you looking at?" She asked upon going outside. "Oh! I forgot all about this!"

"Forgot all about what?"

"It's a special event." She looked up in the night sky. "Once a year, on the same night, two stars will align with each other. There was even a story about it."

"Can you me about the story?"

"Sure!" She smiled at him, to which he responded with looking away. "The story is about two lovers who were never supposed to have met. Orihime, the princess wanted to marry Hikoboshi, but they were both on opposite ends of the Amanogawa River. Orihime's father, Tentei, took pity on her, so he allowed them to meet once a year by commanding the birds to form a bridge."

"You think…that there's probably more meaning to it than what people think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dismiss the thought…"

"Hmm…maybe you're right."

"Eh?"

"Maybe this event could symbolize the day we first met! It could mean that!" She waved her finger in the air triumphantly.

"Hmm…I guess so."

"I was wondering…"

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"My name? It's…kind of weird…"

"Don't worry, to you, I bet it can't be any weirder than my name."

"Ienzo."

"…"

"…?"

"I think that's pretty neat! I'm Yukina Sakuya!"

"I think your name is nice."

"You think so?"

"Of course."

* * *

((Kind of a crappy first chapter, but I'll try to make the others a lot better! I promise! And once again I apologize to everyone for having a crappy final chapter on my last fanfic. I'm sorry. In all honesty, I just wanted to get it over with…so I humbly ask for your forgiveness.))


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Yukina woke up in her bed, and stretched her arms out. Something she didn't like because she immediately found out that it was cold. She looked outside, and found out that it was still raining. She didn't want to get out of bed, seeing as it was so cold. But she figured she had to, seeing as it would probably stay that way for the rest of the day.

"I need a warm breakfast…" She said to herself while rubbing her eyes. She lazily crawled out of bed and put on her new fuzzy rabbit slippers. Then she turned on a heater in her room, which didn't take effect for at least another ten minutes, much to her displeasure.

Yukina tried to see what she could eat, and started the day off with French toast. She decided that she should make the most of this uneventful morning by smothering her breakfast with maple syrup, butter, and powdered sugar. It wasn't healthy, but she didn't care.

"What oh what else can make this already yummy breakfast even better?" She asked herself. Then she put a fist on her flat hand. "I got it! Hot chocolate!"

Yukina used the instant kind of hot chocolate and happily started boiling water. She watched the water bubble with anticipation. When it was ready, she put the hot chocolate mix into a mug and then she poured the water. After mixing it all together, she quickly got started with her breakfast.

"Itadakimasu!" She said while clapping her hands. With her mouth watering, she quickly sliced apart the sugary bread and ate a thick piece. She immediately began on the rest of her meal.

Surprisingly, she forgot to drink her hot chocolate and didn't notice until all three slices of her breakfast was gone. She decided to compensate by putting dozens of mini marshmallows, whipped cream, and sprinkles onto it. Once again adding to her unhealthy breakfast. And once again, not caring.

"This is so delicious!" She said upon taking her first sip.

She loved every bit of the hot chocolate. Especially the somewhat deformed but still yummy marshmallows. She was sad when it was all gone though, and she nearly cried. Then she decided to see what Ienzo was doing.

* * *

Upon entering his room, she found him still in his sleeping clothes, upside-down on a chair, and having his hair blown all over his face by a plug-in electric fan in front of him. Yukina could tell he was bored. She walked over to him.

"Are you okay, hanging upside-down like that?" She asked. In response, Ienzo turned his head and nodded. "Anything you'd like to do today?" He shook his head.

Thinking that he looked pathetic just sitting there like that, she tried to think of something to get him off the chair. Then something clicked.

"If you hang upside-down for too long you'll stop breathing!" She shouted.

" 'Kay." He just got off the chair and sat down on the floor, while still keeping the fan blow air into his face.

"What's wrong with you!" She shouted. "We're still young! We should make the most of our fleeting youth! We need to go somewhere! C'mon!" Without warning, she unplugged the fan.

"Where'd the wind go?" Ienzo looked around, then he tried to reach for the plug from Yukina, but she kept him at bay with her other hand. "But I want the wind…"

"No wind! We are going somewhere!"

"Count me out…"

"I'll give the wind back once we go, 'kay?" She wagged her finger in front of his eyes.

"Okay…"

* * *

Upon getting out of the elevator, they witnessed a short squabble between Wakka and Lulu. When Lulu saw them come out of the elevator together, she complained to Wakka about how they didn't even go on one date since they got married. Despite how interesting it seemed to watch, they both stepped out into the rain. But once they got there, they both had no idea what to do.

"Wh-Where should we go?" She asked herself.

"Can I have my electric fan back?"

"No! We have to do something! Something fun!"

"Sitting in front of the fan is fun."

"To you!"

"It's still fun."

"Hmm…AHA!"

They went back inside and she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Then she drew lines on a piece of paper. Ienzo was confused as to what she was doing. When Yukina was done with the lines, she put three different activities at the ends of the lines.

"Da-da-da-daaaaaah!" She held the paper in front of Ienzo's face. "It's the fortune ladders game!"

"Is this what you call fun?"

"We're getting there. First…" She pointed to the three ends of the ladders. "Pick where you want to start!"

"The middle one."

"Okay!" She put her finger on the starting point and then she moved her finger downward. When she got to the bottom, she saw what she picked. "So you get it, right?"

"I think so."

"Now let's go!"

* * *

"Here we are!"

"Who would want to go here in the middle of a rainy day?"

"Since I put it on the paper, and my finger went there, we're going here!"

"Fine but…ice skating?"

"Yes! Ice skating!"

They entered the building and were surprised to find out that other people had actually gone to the ice skating rink as well. Ienzo was still confused. He had never skated before. On the other hand, Yukina was just happy that they served hot chocolate for a low price of 100 yen for each cup.

"Hot chocolate! Hot chocolate!" She cheered.

"Maybe the hot chocolate is what made people come here in the first place." Ienzo said.

"Hot chocolate is all that matters!"

"Hot chocolate and the ice skating…" Ienzo added.

"Exactly!" Then she took his hand. "Let's get our hot chocolate!"

"And our skates…"

"And the skates!"

* * *

Ienzo decided to get his hot chocolate after he went skating. When he was observing other people, skating looked quite easy to him. But when he took his first step on the ice…

"I don't think I can do this…" He said to himself.

"Of course you can!" Yukina pushed him from behind and then he nearly fell on the cold, hard ice. He kept his balance, and he was beginning to take pride in it. Unfortunately, his victory was short lived as he crashed into the wall.

"Ouch…" He slowly got up, only to slip and fall again.

"Let me help you up! Yukina skated over, and grabbed his wrist. Unfortunately, when she tried to pull, he struggled to get up as well, and they both fell. However, Yukina fell right on top of Ienzo, so they both turned redder than tomatoes. Yukina quickly got off.

"I'm um…sorry." She apologized.

"It's…it's okay."

Eventually, they both got up. And they started skating. For Ienzo, he was a fast learner and was able to pick up on it quickly. But now and again, he would fall and the entire process of getting himself up started all over again.

"Okay, just so you won't fall, let's skate while we're holding hands!" She smiled.

"Oh…umm…sure…of course…" He started blushing.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Okay!" She took his hand. "You just sway from side to side! That's all there is to it!" They continued going back and forth, until Yukina was sure he could handle being on his own.

"I'm pretty sure that other people could jump when they were skating. Can you teach me how?" He asked.

"Oh…I don't really know how to jump." She scratched her head.

"That's fine. I guess we can go skating some other time."

"Sure—huh?"

"What wrong?"

"It all seems too quiet…"

"Well, there weren't many people here in the first place."

Suddenly, Yukina gasped and pointed behind Ienzo. When Ienzo looked back, he saw why everyone was so quiet. Every person, minus them, was frozen and encased in blocks of ice. They were all standing still, which to Yukina was eerie. And the silence added to it.

"What…what happened?" Yukina asked.

"I don't know, but…seeing as everyone else is frozen…and we weren't…"

"What?"

"We're being targeted." Slowly, he looked around, trying to find out who was behind all this. Suddenly he found someone sitting on a bench, just beyond on of the transparent walls. Whoever it was wearing a black hooded cloak. "There."

"KYAAAH!" When Ienzo looked over, she was suddenly being chased by a trail of ice that was chasing her. When she was heading for the exit, her foot was suddenly frozen and she fell onto the ice.

"Whoever you are…stop this right now!" Ienzo demanded.

"You mean you don't remember?" The figure asked upon stepping onto the ice. "Not even one little bit?"

"I've never seen you before!" Ienzo shouted upon seeing the figures face. A man with long, pale blond hair.

"So it's just like Axel said…" The man shrugged. "You don't remember anything." Then he clapped. "Well then! To recap, my name is Vexen."

"I don't care about who you are, release her!"

"Now that's not very nice…" With a wave of his hand, the ice that kept Yukina's foot on the floor started creeping up her legs and then they stopped at her waist. "I suggest you come with me."

Ienzo just stood there, not knowing what to do. He only knew Yukina for barely a day, but why was he trying to protect her? A complete stranger shouldn't be that important to him. But his heart was trying to tell him the opposite. What does all of this mean?

"What will it be?" Vexen asked.

"Ienzo-kun…" Yukina said. Ienzo's eyes met hers. "Do you what you think you should do. If I'm not that important to you…you should just get out of here!"

Was she that important? Or not?

* * *

"AXEL!"

"Told you she would be after us…"

"Shut up and run, Roxas!"

The blonde-haired woman started chasing Axel and Roxas. Why? Because she had found out that someone had replaced all her leftovers of last night's takeout with sea-salt ice cream.

"What does a few simple leftovers mean to you?!" Axel shouted.

"That takeout was actually very tasty! And no one in this damn Organization can actually make a good meal!"

"Told you we shouldn't have eaten it…" Roxas said calmly while running.

"What's going on?" Someone asked.

"Saix!" Axel shouted. He came to a stop.

"We took Larxene's—" Roxas said while stopping as well.

"Shut up you idiot!" Axel covered Roxas' mouth.

"Well then…" Saix started. Axel then put his hands on his head, expecting to be hit. "Whatever you took, I suggest you give it back." Saix then walked back down the hallway.

"Huh? He didn't hit me?" Axel said while taking his hands off of his head.

"Yeah. I'm confused too." Larxene agreed. "But then again, Saix isn't acting well…like himself. I can't really see him as one of us anymore."

"But hasn't he been a little strange since we joined?" Roxas joined in.

"But…he's acting even stranger…"

"Maybe Saix has a connection as to why those two are gone." Axel suggested.

"Could be." Larxene sighed. Yukina, as a nobody, was actually the only person she started to care about. But as they spent more time together, she was caring for her as a little sister. And through that, she was able to connect with the other members without hitting them first.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Axel snapped Larxene out of her deep thinking.

"What is it?" She asked.

Axel motioned for them to stay there, and he ran up to Saix, and seemed to be asking him something. But then, Saix punched him after saying something else, and Axel walked back to the two blondes with a rather nasty bruise on his head.

"What'd you say to him?" Roxas asked.

"Saix, are you vicariously living through me in the hope that my accomplishments will validate your mediocre life and in some way compensate for all of the opportunities you botched?" Axel said.

Roxas and Larxene just stood there.

"Well, then Saix said 'If I were, you can bet I'd be re-evaluating my strategy.' And after that he hit me. What a rather nasty insult…"

"Axel, did you get a vocabulary poisoning?" Roxas asked.

"I'm…not…sure…" Axel said while scratching his head. "But if he didn't take out his weapon and go berzerk, something's definitely wrong with him."

"Do you think anyone else notices?"

Suddenly, a portal appeared. Vexen stepped out of it.

"So, old man, where have you been?" Axel asked.

"Out doing a mission…"

"So…how'd it go?" Larxene asked.

"Well…"

"…"

"…"

"…?"

"I failed." Vexen smiled while making an 'X' with his fingers.

"Then why are you smiling?" Roxas asked.

"It was actually a mission I didn't want to accomplish."

"Why? What was it?"

"Well…"

* * *

"Getting the Kawaii Kawaii Fuwa-Fuwa Usa-chan Checkers/Chess Set!"

"Why are we getting it?"

"Our little skating activity was pretty much ruined, but we need to still do something fun when we get back to the hotel!"

"Okay."

Having conquered the dangers of the ice rink by nearly running over the enemy with ice resurfacer, they decided to not go anywhere else that day. So, they decided to calm themselves down by having a nice relaxing game of checkers. Unfortunately, they didn't have a checker set, so Yukina bought one. She ran across an extremely rare "Kawaii Kawaii Fuwa-Fuwa Usa-chan Checkers/Chess Set." To be precise, a checker/chess set that had cute, fluffy rabbits.

* * *

"You mean both of them are actually there?" Larxene asked.

"So it seems. The only problem is that both of them don't remember anything about us. Well, it seems Xunakiy, or should I say, Yukina just doesn't remember the Organization. But for Zexion…"

"I know. He doesn't remember anything. Period." Axel finished.

"Except his name."

"Which name?" Roxas asked.

"The one he had when we were all still scientists." Vexen explained. "Ienzo."

"That was his true name?" Larxene asked.

"Yes."

"…"

"…"

"Pretty strange name if you ask me."

"Ouch."

* * *

"I move this piece over here."

"Then I'll move this one over here."

"I take one of your pieces!"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For moving that piece because now I can take three more of your pieces."

"KYAAAH!"

"If you're so frustrated with checkers, shouldn't we play chess instead?"

"I don't know how to play chess!" Yukina whined. "But the pieces are so adorable! Look at what they put for the king and queens!" She wagged the white and red rabbit pieces in front of Ienzo's face, much to his annoyance.

"Yes, yes, they're very adorable." He swatted the pieces away.

"Unlike the black and blue pieces because the colors remind me of a bruise."

"Yes. And I was banished to them because you took the red and white pieces."

"That's right!"

"I pretty much wasted the money you spent on this. How can it be useful if both of us can't enjoy it…" Ienzo looked down.

"Don't think like that!" Yukina shouted while she stood up. "I'll learn chess! That way, we'll both have fun while we're at it! So just you wait! No sad faces! Okay?" She pointed her finger straight into his face.

"Fine—"

"I said no sad faces!"

"Okay." He tried to smile, but it didn't look like he meant it.

"Oh well." She sat back down. "It's a start…you just…work on it! Okay?"

"I will!" He said more confidently.

"Yay!"

"Hey, umm…what's your favorite kind of book?"

"Something about a book? What?"

"What kinds of books do you like?"

"Oh…" She tapped her chin. "Let's see…I got it!" She clapped her hands together. "I like books that depict everything so vividly. They make it seem as if you're actually there! I don't really care of they make you laugh, cry, or get scared. So long as I get a good experience from it, I'm perfectly fine with any book!"

"In that case, we can just go to my room for a short reading session, because we still have some time before lunch."

"You're right, because today is going by very slowly…"

"It's always like that when it's rainy."

"Yay! So I'm not the only one that noticed! Let's go to your room then!" Once again, she took his hand, and dragged him up and to his room.

* * *

Ienzo noticed something when he observed Yukina. There seemed to be certain glow around her. She seemed content while she was reading, and that of course, would lead to smile. Her smile seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world to him, and that he could watch her forever. Maybe he was thinking too highly of all of this, and it was also because of the lamp that was turned on and conveniently placed next to Yukina.

"Ienzo-kun?" He looked up. "Are you okay? You haven't turned the page of your book in ten minutes."

"Umm! Well! Umm…"

"What?"

"Back there." He was wondering about this. "Back there. You added a suffix to my name. What does it mean?"

"Oh. The suffix…" She looked up, and then she looked back to Ienzo again. "Well, in this place, we add suffixes to people's names. We add 'kun', 'san', 'chan', or some other suffixes."

"What happens if you don't add a suffix?"

"It's actually considered disrespectful to refer to people without suffixes. But in some cases, when people are really close, they don't need to say each other's name with the suffix."

"Last night…you said your full name was Yukina Sakuya, right?"

"Right."

"So…can I call you Sakuya-san?"

"Sakuya-san…sure!"

"Then, like last time, I'll just call you—"

* * *

"_Good morning, Zexion-kun!"_

"_Energetic as ever, aren't we?"_

* * *

"GAAH!!" Yukina suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head. And in response, she was breathing heavily while digging her nails right into her skull.

"What's wrong!?" Ienzo asked.

"It hurts…it hurts…so much…" Yukina panted. "What…what was that?"

"Sakuya-san!?" Ienzo shouted as she fell forward and into his arms.

"Zexion…kun…?" She said before being rendered unconscious.

"Sakuya-san?" He said while trying to wake her up…but to no avail. "What do I do? What do I do?" He asked himself. "I've never hugged a girl—GAH! I haven't done anything! What do I do?!"

* * *

Yukina woke up in her bed, and stretched her arms out. Something she didn't like because she immediately found out that it was cold. She looked outside, and found out that it was still raining. She didn't want to get out of bed, seeing as it was so cold. But when she found out that it wasn't her bed that she realized she was sleeping in, she immediately jumped out and figured out that it was Ienzo's room that she was in. With that said…

"Where is he?" She asked. Suddenly she heard an explosion outside. "There can't be explosions with the rain still out…it must not be natural! Wait a minute!" She shouted to herself. "All this stuff isn't normal, and it involves a strange group of ominous cloaked figures…"

When she heard another explosion, she went outside to a shaded balcony to find out what was going on outside. She saw the spiky redhead, and his friend of a shorter height. She saw several small craters all around them, which meant that there was a battle raging. She also noticed one more person dressed in torn clothes, with cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over. She knew that if they struck one more blow, he would be done for.

"Ienzo-kun!"

* * *

((There you have it. The second chapter. In this fanfic, it won't always revolve around our star couple. I'll try to show what else happens with the other characters, which is why I didn't put it anyone's point of view. I'll try to update sooner than I did with my other fanfic, which will be harder seeing as I'm going back to school this week. Oh well, see you next time!))


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ienzo-kun!" Yukina shouted.

"Sakuya-san!?" Ienzo shouted back. "What are you doing!?"

"Stop fighting and get out of there!" Yukina nearly screamed. When Ienzo looked back to her, there was concern in her eyes. She was worried, but Ienzo just didn't have any idea how much. Yukina almost cried at the thought of having Ienzo taken away. There was just something…something about him that made him so special to her in such a short time. Both of their hearts were beating rapidly through this moment, and neither of them could explain it.

"Sorry, but…Ienzo here needs to come with us!" Axel shouted before igniting one of his weapons and hurling it Ienzo.

"Ienzo-kun!!" Yukina shouted. Without thinking, she jumped off the balcony and into the line of fire.

"SAKUYA-SAN!!" Ienzo shouted upon seeing her jump.

Ienzo was able to catch her, but then she used her herself as a shield to protect him. For Ienzo, the scream that came after was painful for him to hear. When her body fell to the ground, he was both infuriated and saddened.

"Why…" Ienzo asked, almost inaudibly. "What the hell…What the hell do you want with me!?" He shouted.

"This wouldn't have happened if you came with us in the first place." Axel said while shaking his head.

"Don't you go making this my fault!" Ienzo shouted. "It was your weapon that hurt her!"

"So you want to start something!?" Axel shouted while taking out another weapon.

"Gladly!" Ienzo shouted. When he was about to run straight at him, something caught his leg. When he looked back down, Yukina's arm was holding his leg down.

"Ienzo…kun…" Yukina said weakly. "Please…don't fight…anymore…" Then her grip weakened, and she passed out.

"Sakuya-san…" Ienzo said. He started carrying her and then he looked back to his attackers. "If you try to hurt her again, I'll make sure you won't ever do it to anyone else ever again."

"Boy, aren't we going to get it when they find out we blew it." Roxas sighed.

"You're right…" Then Axel shrugged. "Hey, maybe we'll figure something out."

And with those words, Axel conjured up a portal and then both of them left. Ienzo, not minding hem at all, went back inside the hotel.

* * *

"Welcome back, Ienzo-san!" Lulu greeted. Then she frowned when she saw Yukina's state.

"Lu! Can't you do something to help the kid?" Wakka shouted.

"I'm not a healer, you big lug!" Lulu shouted back.

"We should call a doctor! She's been injured badly!" Ienzo pleaded.

"Let me see her." Lulu said.

Ienzo laid Yukina down on a nearby couch and Lulu looked closely at her. Then Lulu put her hand on Ienzo's shoulder.

"Despite her injury, she's actually going to make a fine recovery!" Lulu said while holding up two fingers in her hand.

"How can you tell?" Ienzo asked.

"I just can." Lulu said. "She'll just need some rest, so you can put Yukina-chan up in her room."

"I will."

* * *

Ienzo did as he was told, and carried Yukina up to her room. When he laid her down on her bed, he took a chair and sat down beside her. Then he took her hand into both of his. While he was there, he wondered why everything was happening like this. He knew there had to be more to how him and Yukina were connected. Did they meet sometime before? Looks like it. And they had to be close, seeing as she would unconditionally sacrifice herself just for his sake.

"Please…" He said to Yukina. "Sakuya-san…please be okay…"

He didn't know what led to this, but he kissed her hand. Immediately, he blushed, but then he was just happy no one saw that. In a way, he felt happy that he was with her. Right now, Yukina seemed like the most precious thing in the world to him. Unfortunately, he heard someone come into the room.

"Sorry…" Axel apologized. "We were sent on a mission to capture you. I didn't exactly mean to hurt her."

"A mission?" Ienzo asked while still watching over Yukina. "Who sent you?"

"Well, let's start from the beginning." Axel said while pulling up a chair. "Me an' Roxas here…"

"Hello."

"Both of us are nobodies, and we belong to Organization XIII." Axel started. "Organization XIII is a just a group of nobodies, with just one goal."

"And what goal is that?"

"Getting our hearts back." Roxas answered.

"Hearts?"

"The thing is, nobodies don't have hearts." Axel continued. "There are monsters called the heartless, and when our hearts are taken away by them, another heartless is actually made."

"And the soul and body left behind become nobodies?" Ienzo finished.

"Glad to see you still remember some stuff."

"What do you mean?" Ienzo asked while turning his seat around.

"It means—"

"Axel!" Roxas shouted. "This is the fifth time I'm calling you! Do you want your frickin' ice cream or WHAT!?"

"I'm takin' the damn ice cream! Don't touch it!" Axel then ran out the door without another word.

"That was…awkward." Ienzo commented. "But I wonder what he meant."

When he heard something move, he turned around to find, Xunakiy yawning and rubbing her eyes. Ienzo couldn't help but hug her upon her waking up. She was surprised, of course, but she ended up clearing out the fact that she was blushing and took a deep breath.

"Ienzo-kun…" She started. "I know anyone would be worried if they were in your position, but…don't you think this would be a little much for a stranger?" Of course, Yukina noticed that something was strange about the both of them, but she decided to keep this a secret from Ienzo.

"I'm…sorry." He said while he went back to his seat. "Wait a—how the hell did you actually heal up so fast in only five minutes!?"

"I don't know." Yukina shrugged. "But I've always been a fast healer."

"Look." Ienzo said while pointing to a nearby window. "It stopped raining."

"You're right!" Yukina smiled. "Maybe this means things will be much brighter from now on!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" A voice came from behind. When the both of them looked back again, an exhausted Axel was at the doorway, and then he held up a popsicle stick in the hallway. "THERE! I ate the frickin' ice cream! You aren't getting seconds!"

Suddenly, Roxas tried to jump at Axel's head, but when he dodged, Roxas grabbed one of his legs. Trying not to pay any mind, he tried to walk towards Yukina and Ienzo with Roxas still hanging onto his leg. Yukina and Ienzo tried to choke down laughter as Axel tried to shake off Roxas.

"Ice cream…" Roxas muttered.

"So!" Axel said, while putting his head onto Ienzo's head. "We're going to be living here from now on seeing as we're going to get hell if we ever go back! Hope that's okay with the little bookworm here!"

"Just because I'm interested in books doesn't mean that I'm a bookworm!" Ienzo tried to take Axel's hand off, but in response, Axel pulled him into a headlock and kept scruffing his hair.

"Ice cream…" Roxas muttered yet again.

"That does too make you a bookworm!" Axel said while grinding his fist into Ienzo's head. Instead of just trying to break free, Ienzo simply bit down on Axel's hand.

"You don't have rabies, right?" Axel asked.

"Of course I don't!" Ienzo said while finally freeing himself from the clutches of the redhead.

"Ice cream…" Roxas muttered the third time.

"Will you shut up about the frickin' ice cream!" Axel shouted to the floor.

"But you ate my ice cream…"

"It was mine to begin with!"

"It looks like…things are going to get a lot more exciting." Yukina said to herself.

* * *

Over the span of the next two days, Axel and Roxas went through more fights over the strange ice cream that the two always ate. It made Yukina wonder if that's all they really ate. Other than the fighting, Yukina was able to take an entrance exam into a high school as a third year, because her adopted family was well known, and she was able to skip two grades of middle school. But it wasn't the test that was nerve wrecking. It was the fact that Axel was trying to "persuade" the principal into letting her into the school. She was just happy she got let in at all.

"I got accepted into Outo High!" She said while interrupting a lunch between Axel, Roxas, and Zexion. At exactly the same time, they all slurped up a clump of noodles.

"Outo High? That isn't too far from here, is it?" Ienzo asked before biting off a piece off of beef.

"It's actually just several blocks from here!" Yukina said while sitting down with the three other men.

"It was because of me that you got in there!" Axel said while proudly waving a fist in the air. "If there's anyone else you want me to rough up for you, you let me know!"

"Thanks, but…" She scratched her head. "Just so you know, my adopted family was actually pretty well known, so I had their influence on my side. You didn't really have to threaten the principal to let me into the school." Axel simply sat there like an idiot.

"Like always, you never think things through…" Roxas said after slurping up some more noodles with a fork, seeing as he didn't know how to handle chopsticks.

"Here it comes…" Ienzo cut in.

"…like making the mistake of always taking my ice cream."

"Why can't you shut up about the damn ice cream!?"

"So…Sakuya-san…" Ienzo started. "How did Axel threaten your principal?"

"It was something like…" Yukina looked up for a second, then she looked back down. "Oh yeah! It was something like…'You better let little Yuki here into your school or I'm going to beat the hell out of you!'" Yukina said it without the whole 'tough' attitude and she practically chopped up the sentence which made it sound even worse, so for the three of them, listening to a cute voice while trying to sound intimidating left them all in silence. "You guys are just sitting there. Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh! It's umm…just that…you—"

"That isn't at all how I sounded!" Axel shouted while cutting off Ienzo.

"I tried to the best I can…" Yukina sighed.

"Don't get all depressed now!" Axel shouted even louder.

"You're right! I'll stay positive!" Yukina sat there, and then she looked down again. "But Lulu said she'll pay for my tuition, but then she said that I'll be having to pay double the rent…"

"Don't worry. I'll get a job and do my best to support the two of us…" Ienzo said while putting his chopsticks down and clapping his hands. "Thank you for the meal."

"But you can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"I have to worry about my own problems! I'll get my own job!"

"I'll be doing this because I want to. End of story." Ienzo said while getting up and going out the door.

"I think I ticked him off."

"Don't sweat it!" Axel intervened before she could fall into depression. "He wasn't angry! At least I'm sure he isn't…anyway! Just trust me on that!"

"Axel?" Roxas asked.

"What?"

"You really suck at making people feel better."

"Shut up!"

* * *

On her first day of actual high school, she didn't feel like socializing with the other girls. Apparently, the other girls avoided her as well. Was it because she was only fifteen but she was a third year? Was it because of her unusual hair color? She figured it was either one or the other. She was happy it ended so quickly because she wanted to speak to Ienzo after that little discussion at lunch the other day. She figured she would talk to him as soon as she saw him, but upon exiting the building, she found a large group of girls gathered around a tree on the campus.

"He is so cute!" Yukina heard a girl shout.

"He's better than what you find on TV nowadays." She heard while passing another pair of girls.

"A picture for 2,000 yen isn't much at all when you think about it!"

"Of course! It's better than the movies!"

"Do you think he'll come back tomorrow?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Umm…excuse me…" Yukina started.

"Yeah. What?" The girls sneered at her.

"I was only wondering what you two were talking about…"

"Looks like you aren't up to date." The first girl said.

"The cutest guy we've ever seen is actually in the campus and we were able to get a picture for only 2,000 yen!"

"I see. Thank you."

"Whatever, _loser_." The girls giggled as they walked off.

"Loser…" Yukina repeated. She decided to see how much money this person was making. Whoever it was certainly must've been smart to use their looks for this particular job. All the girls at this school were only here through high-class families, so they were all shallow in some way. When she went to see who it was…she was very surprised. "I-I-Ienzo-kun!?"

"Sakuya-san. Nice to see you today." Ienzo waved. Yukina looked to what was on the tree's trunk and she saw a sign that read "_Take a picture with me for 2000 yen._"

"Sakuya-san!? So you know her!?" All the girls crowded around him. And then they started crowding around Yukina.

"Oh no…" She whispered to herself.

"So you know him!?"

"What's his favorite color!?"

"How long have you known each other!?"

"Can you set up a date for me!?"

"Too many questions…GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Yukina shouted.

After shouting, she ran off in a random direction. Ienzo, upon seeing this, got out a marker, flipped over the sign, and then he scribbled down '_CLOSED_'. Then he silently walked off to see where Yukina went. Leaving girls to squeal at how mysterious he was.

* * *

After navigating through the city, Yukina chose to sit down at the swing set where she and Ienzo first met. She was just sitting there, watching smaller kids play soccer. Then Ienzo finally caught up and joined her.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Ienzo asked.

"I'm sorry." Yukina apologized. "I…I just don't like crowds."

"That was sort of…I don't know…evident."

"I guess it was…wasn't it?"

"Look. I'll just accompany you to school tomorrow, and Ill try to see if I can fix the situation." Ienzo put his hand on Yukina's shoulder. "If I can't…I'll…try seeing if I can take you somewhere."

"Like a date?"

"Yes—NO! It's not a date! Just because a guy and a girl go to a place doesn't mean it's a date!" Ienzo tried to correct himself, but when he deemed it a lost cause, he slapped himself.

"Are you sure?" Yukina smiled. "You're blushing."

"I-I am not blushing!"

"Yes you are."

"Let's just…get home!"

"Sure."

"Oh. Umm…" Ienzo pointed to her book-bag. "You need help carrying that?"

"I'm fine."

"No. I can carry it for you." Ienzo tried to grab the bag, but instead was hit on the head by Yukina.

"Okay, here you go!"

"Why'd you hit me on the head then!?"

"…I don't know. Maybe letting you carry my bag was a last minute decision."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

"Welcome home." Lulu greeted.

The two just silently went upstairs to their rooms, leaving a saddened Lulu.

"Thank you Lulu, it's nice to be home." Lulu sighed. "Is that too much to ask?"

"It is." Wakka said while passing by.

Out of nowhere a pillar of water drenched the orange-haired man.

"Why you gotta do that!?" Wakka shouted.

"You are annoying for a husband…"

* * *

"So!" Axel said while patting Yukina's head. "How was your first day of high school?"

"It was great!" Yukina said with happiness.

"Glad to hear it!" Axel then spotted the sign that Ienzo was holding. "What's with the cardboard?"

"I made money." Ienzo flatly replied. When Axel looked at what was written on the other side of the board, he had his jaw drop. Then he closed it after five seconds.

"So I take it that business went well?" Axel asked while scratching his head.

"Very." Upon being asked how many people actually went for it, he answered…

"EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE CAMPUS MINUS YUKINA!?" Axel shouted.

"I'm very happy with my earnings." He said while holding up a box filled with yen. "On my count, I think I made…roughly…"

"Roughly…what?"

"A good…one million yen…or more…" Ienzo said while showing the sums on a calculator in Axel's face.

"Th-th-that much…" Axel pointed at the calculator.

"That's almost close in amount of munny to what we spent on sea-salt ice cream last year…" Roxas said while popping up behind Axel.

"Not really, Roxas." Axel said while putting his hand on Roxas' shoulder. "I think we just went on I.O.U to avoid paying for it…"

The four of them stood quietly.

"So…you're in debt?" Yukina asked. As intelligent as she was, Yukina wasn't all that bright when it came to obvious matters.

"Of course we're not in debt!" Axel jokingly pushed Yukina. "We were just…um…talking about…something that happened last year! Yeah…"

"So you paid it off?"

"Of course we—"

"Did not." Roxas finished.

"Shut the hell up you idiot!"

* * *

Within a snow-white castle…lives its very own king…a king…with his own royal problems…

"I take it that the little tramp is living peacefully…with him…"

"Well, I wouldn't say it so soon…seeing as you sent Number IV on his mission, as well as VII and XIII…though we haven't heard a word from those two in days…"

"Why do you think that is?"

"What?"

"Do you know why there hasn't been a sign of both Axel and Roxas?"

"Not a clue…"

"It's because she's poisoned their minds with her own devious little intentions and now they've left to join her side!"

"I believe it's nothing you should get worked up over—"

"Of course I should get angry about it! She should have been dead by now! And then, just when I thought everything would be reverting back to something orthodox, both of them find each other again! It's…it's disgusting! And then…everyone else will stray from their path and desert us!"

"Maybe its because of you that they're starting to leave—"

"It's because of that little witch! Everything has been going just fine until she had to come! She's filthy, weak and—"

"She wouldn't have become one of you if she was weak. Becoming a nobody requires a strong heart and all…and you shouldn't be thinking badly of her."

"Why shouldn't I!?"

"Because…someday…you'll actually get to know each other…and then…she would ask you to become her friend. She truly is…one of the best people…you could ever meet. Maybe…you'll change if you meet her…"

"That would never happen! I'll stay in this castle for the rest of my life! I'll create the perfect world! I'll never leave!"

"Never say never. And don't you still owe me from our last bet?"

"No I don't!"

"Sometimes…I wonder if I should still consider myself as one of you—"

"What do you mean 'one of you'!?"

"Must I really spell it out for you? Oh well…it doesn't matter because…whatever you're planning…you will lose…you will fail…"

"You…you bastard…don't you dare walk away from me!!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm walking right now…"

"TAKE THIS!!"

"What!?"

* * *

((I feel…dead. School has just started two days ago…but at least it gave me an idea to play on. Anyways, it should be obvious which two characters made their own little dialogue in the last part. Oh yeah! And for the record…that one million yen that Ienzo made off with is—on my estimate—equivalent to a good ten thousand dollars! A lot of dough huh?))


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Take pictures with Ienzo-chan for only 2000 yen!" Yukina shouted loudly while holding up the sign.

Ienzo had said that they would be trying to pull the same stunt like the day before, and business was just as good, or probably even better. In addition to that, Yukina was helping business along, which also doubled by the fact that she wanted to make sure that she wasn't crowded, due to her fear. In some way, she doubted Ienzo would hold up his end of his deal, but in the same way, she wanted to go along with it anyway.

" So they really do know each other!" One of the girls shouted.

"Yeah! Who would've thought?"

"No one would have expected such a loser to know a cutie like him!"

"Loser…" Yukina looked down, and with it, she lowered down the sign.

Ienzo caught sight of this, and walked back over to her.

"Hey…" Ienzo put his hand on Yukina's head. "Don't look sad. And don't let those meaningless words put you down. Those girls are probably losers themselves, which is why they're putting you on the hot seat!"

Yukina reluctantly went back up to promote business once again. She tried her best to sound happy, and she lasted through the rest of the remaining business hours. Despite Ienzo's efforts to cheer her up, she still had that one word stuck in the back of her head.

* * *

"We're back." They both greeted to Lulu and Wakka.

"There's something different…" Yukina said while pondering. "I got it! Where's Axel-kun and Roxas-kun?"

"Don't worry about them…" Lulu said while watering a nearby plant. "They went out job hunting."

"Job hunting?" Ienzo asked.

"In my hotel, you need to pull your own weight." She said while walking to another plant. "And I managed to convince those two to get real jobs."

"Wonderful." Ienzo said in a deadpan matter. Then he sighed, "At least things will be much quieter with them doing something productive."

"That's too bad." Yukina said. "We need something to do." She spun around a couple of times, which confused everyone. But this was actually her own way of getting her brain to work. When she fell backwards, a worried Ienzo caught her. "I know! Let's go to that place you wanted to show me, Ienzo-san!" She poked Ienzo in the cheek while she looked upward.

"That place? Sure." He said while helping Yukina get back on her feet.

"It's a date?!" Lulu gasped.

"It's not a date!" Ienzo shouted while unintentionally blushing. "When a guy and a girl go to some place, it's not a date!" Repeating what he said the afternoon before, he deemed it a lost cause and slapped himself.

"If it's a touchy subject for you, we can all drop it—" Yukina tried to comfort him, but then she was grabbed by her wrist and led out the door.

"We. Are. Going." Ienzo said angrily.

* * *

"Wow. I've never to this kind of place before!" Yukina said while clapping her hands together.

"I just heard it opened recently, so I thought it would be okay to check out." Ienzo said while looking up at the sign.

"Of course it's okay to check out! It's a flower store!"

"I didn't know she'd be this excited…" Ienzo muttered. "Maybe next time I should bring her to somewhere more exciting or interesting…a museum…an aquarium?"

"Let's go on, shall we, Ienzo-kun?" Yukina said while pulling on Ienzo's sleeve.

Upon entering the store through automatic doors, it was quite eerie to find all of the lights turned off. They tried calling out to whoever was managing the shop, but no one responded. When they called out one last time, there was still no response. But when they tried to exit, they couldn't open the doors.

"Umm…why are locked in?" Yukina asked. Ienzo simply shrugged.

"You are locked in because…" An energetic and flamboyant, but at the same time, eerie sounding voice began. "You are our very first customers!"

Suddenly, the lights all turned on, and it made the shop seem much larger than it was on the outside. Instead of just one story, it was two stories full of many colorful, beautiful flowers. Many of which the pair had never seen before. And on one of the balconies on the second floor, was a woman with bright blonde hair, and carrying a basket full of what couldn't be seen by the two. And on the ground floor, was a man with pink hair.

"Welcome to our flower shop!" The man greeted. Suddenly, pink flower petals started to slowly float down while he continued talking. "I am the owner of said shop! I am the youthful, beautiful, and most of all, graceful—" Before he could continue, however, a petal somehow went into his mouth and he coughed it up. "Larxene, you can stop—"

Suddenly, all the petals came down at once, and he was buried in them, with only his hand pointing straight up, while it was still twitching. The sight was a little strange, but then the woman, who threw the basket in top, covered up his hand. Suddenly she jumped down from where she was standing and proceeded to poke the pile of the fallen petals. Then the strange man emerged from the pile.

"When I wanted you to stop, I didn't mean for you to drop all of them at once." He said while clenching his fists. Then he looked back to the two confused young teenagers. " I am Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin!" He shouted out with glee whilst holding a rose.

"Graceful…assassin?" Yukina asked.

"Why, that's right!"

"And I'm to assume you're with two guys named Axel and Roxas?" Ienzo asked.

"Well—"

"Yes we are." The woman named Larxene spoke out.

"Of course we—what?"

"Let's get out of here." Ienzo said while trying to kick the door open.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" Marluxia yelped as he scrambled to the door before Ienzo kicked it again. "We-We're not trying to do anything bad…"

"We're trying to kidnap Ienzo over here." Larxene said while using Ienzo's head as an armrest, much to his displeasure. "I dislike it, but those are our orders."

"In that case…" Yukina said while walking over to some roses. "You can live in the hotel along with Axel-kun and Roxas-kun!"

"If you live in a hotel, doesn't that make it an apartment?" Marluxia asked.

"Lulu-san said it was a hotel."

"Who's Lulu?" Larxene asked.

"She's the one who owns the hotel." Ienzo answered while looking at violets.

"Living in a hotel? Sounds like something from a foreign TV show I've heard about…" Larxene commented.

"You coming or what?" Ienzo asked. As it turns out, Larxene unlocked the doors and now Ienzo and Yukina were able to leave.

"Ienzo-kun…" Yukina said as she looked up.

"What is it, Sakuya-san?"

"I wanted to see if…I could stay here a little while longer."

"Oh yeah…" Ienzo scratched his head as he was halfway out the door. He realized that they wanted to come here in the first place.

"Stay for as long as you want!" Marluxia shouted. "You are our very first customers! We need to commemorate this!" Marluxia suddenly took out a camera and then he got all four of them together.

"There's no way in HELL that you would make me smile." Ienzo growled.

"Then I have a question for you…" Marluxia grinned.

"What is it, Marluxia-chan?" Yukina asked.

"Marluxia-chan…I could get used to that…" Marluxia happily said to himself as he looked off in another direction. "Oh yes! Here's that question…" Everyone seemed anxious for the question. "What is the last letter of the alphabet?"

"Z?" Everyone said. Suddenly Marluxia hugged all of them while he took a picture.

"I never thought that would work so well!" Marluxia giggled.

"YOU BASTARD!!" Larxene and Ienzo said while getting the incredibly sharp gardening tools.

"Ha ha ha…" Marluxia smiled in the face of danger. But that quickly went away. "I'm going to die!" He shouted when he started running.

* * *

"Xemnas, why has the meeting already started without Saix?"

"He's no longer a part of this Organization."

"So that means he has a—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Fine, fine…"

"Has anyone seen Axel and Roxas at all for the past three days?"

"Not at all, Luxord."

"Marluxia and Larxene haven't come back as well."

"Everyone notices their absence, Lexaeus. And why did you bother pointing that out? Everyone knows that Marluxia, even with Larxene's help, would prolong the pettiest and easiest of tasks."

"No. It's more than that."

"Probably the intervention of our favorite couple?"

"Xigbar, why must you say that?"

"My favorite hobby is eavesdropping as you all know. And the night before the both of them disappeared, they shared something that started with a 'k' and ends with a double 's!'"

"You don't need to spell it out for us, you prick."

"Demyx, you've been awfully quiet."

"Huh? Oh. I guess I have…"

"Something's definitely wrong with him. You're not in your chipper attitude."

"It's about those two. I feel as if…"

"You feel what?"

"I feel as if I can help with the matter."

"How so…?"

"Let's try thinking this out passively."

"…"

"Superior?"

"Alright. I'll try going along with your plan…"

* * *

"What…the…hell?"

"Axel-kun, if you didn't like Marluxia-chan, you're going to have to put up with him because—"

"PLEASE don't finish that sentence." Axel said upon walking off to his own room.

Yukina observed Axel until he slammed the door to his room. Then she sighed, "I really hope that I didn't do anything to upset him…"

Larxene heard this comment despite the fact that she was socializing with Lulu and then she walked over and patted her on the head. When Yukina looked up, Larxene comforted her by saying, "Those two will always be at it, so don't worry about it."

Then Yukina looked back to Axel's closed door, already decorated with stickers of flame and the sort. "Well, if it's actually possible, I'll try to mend the gap!" She said while putting a fist on her flattened palm.

"I'm pretty sure Lulu reminded you that you need to get yourself a job." Ienzo said.

"You're right. I don't exactly intend to keep working with Mr. Flowers-and-Sunshine over there." Larxene sighed. Then she pointed to Marluxia who was trying to tell Lulu to brighten up. Marluxia was then blasted with a plume of fire that sprouted from a doll that Lulu was holding.

"Maybe I should consider getting a job sometime soon…"

"I'm pretty sure you'd work in a bookstore or something like that…"

"Maybe I would…"

Yukina pulled on Ienzo's sleeve. "Ienzo-kun! Ienzo-kun! Its almost time for dinner!"

"What will we be having?"

"Ramen, like last night!"

Ienzo scratched his head. "But isn't that what we ate for the past three days?"

"But there are many kinds of ramen!"

"Fine…"

* * *

At the dinner table, everything was rather silent. Or rather, it would have been silent if it wasn't for the fact that Larxene couldn't handle chopsticks. And when she went back to using the forks, the noodles kept slipping through the gaps.

"Theses noodles hate me!" Larxene shouted. She repeatedly stabbed the bowl over and over, until it showed signs of breaking with one more combo.

"Onee-chan, you could just drink the noodles along with the soup…" Yukina said while lifting her own nearly empty bowl.

"Then that would make all my efforts go to waste!" Larxene shouted. Once again, she tried to get some more noodles, and when she finally got one clump, she stopped moving. She calmed herself down by saying, "I have to do this gently…"

She carefully tried to lift the noodles to her mouth, but at the last second, all the noodles managed to slip through and splash back into the bowl. She just stared at her chopsticks.

"Larxene-san?" Ienzo tried asking.

In response, Larxene flipped the table over and shouted angrily, "SCREW THIS! I'LL EAT SOMETHING ELSE!" When she flipped the table however, the bowl had somehow flipped over and landed on the floor, with all of its contents perfectly intact. "GAH! I HATE RAMEN!"

Yukina calmly took the bowl and picked up some noodles with the chopsticks. "Onee-chan, it's actually about how you hold the chopsticks…"

"So, you're giving me chopstick lessons now?"

"Onee-chan, if you're going to live here, you're going to have to learn how to deal with our customs!"

"Fine. This is my first time doing this…"

"That means I'm your senpai!"

"You're my what?"

"I'm more experienced in using chopsticks!"

"I figured as much..."

After flipping the table back over, the others continued to observe Yukina's chopstick lesson.

"She hasn't really changed since we last saw her." Marluxia commented.

"Not at all…" Roxas answered.

"So…you guys actually knew her before?"

"You could…say that…" Axel added.

"What do you mean by that?" Suddenly, Ienzo looked around.

"So…what got your panties in a bunch?" Axel asked.

"It's just that…whenever I try asking that, I get cut off—"

"YEAH! I FINALLY GOT IT!" Larxene yelled in triumph.

"Like that…" Ienzo sighed while laying his head on the table and covering it with his arms.

"Yup, you finally got it Larxene…" Axel said in a sarcastic tone. "…After ten minutes…while the rest of us learned in two."

Larxene growled and since she was holding the chopsticks in her hand at the time, she ended up breaking them in two. Yukina simply stared at the broken wooden eating utensils.

"That's okay, Onee-chan! I'll just get you another pair!" Yukina reached for another pair of chopsticks on the table, but then she felt her hand touch someone else's. When she looked up, she saw Ienzo…and she also started turning red. She began apologizing with it by saying, "I AM SO SORRY!"

"I-If you were going to give those to Larxene-san, then take them already!"

"NO! I'LL GET ANOTHER PAIR!"

"Don't worry! I'll get my own…"

"BUT YOU GOT THEM FIRST! YOU HAVE THEM!"

"Why the hell are you still shouting that loudly?"

"I'M REALLY SORRY!"

"Stop shouting!"

* * *

After dinner, all of them decided to sleep, but Yukina volunteered to wash dishes while the others slept. She pondered over many topics while washing the dishes, such as what jobs everyone, minus Marluxia, would end up with. Ienzo was the one that she figured would be the most obvious. He always seemed happy reading anything, so of course he would end up working in a bookstore. Yukina reminded herself that she should get herself a job herself. But before she could decide what that would be, she noticed that it was getting a little warm.

"A walk would probably do me some good." She said after finishing the other dishes.

Upon walking outside, she felt a light breeze upon her face, and walked in the direction of the soothing wind. She stopped when she came to the swing set. The same one where she first saw Ienzo. She laughed for a little while when she remembered how she mistook him for a stalker and kicked him off his seat. Once again, she felt the wind and she closed her eyes and raised her head. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the sky.

"There aren't many stars out, as usual…" Then she looked to the moon. "But at least the moon looks beautiful tonight."

Suddenly, the wind picked up and became stronger and stronger. She shielded her eyes with her arms, and when it all died down, she took a long around. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but then she saw someone on the floor. Immediately, she ran to the person's side. Seeing as the man was unconscious—as well as bleeding—she started to panic.

* * *

Ienzo woke up, and stretched his hands. Then he picked up a book and started reading. After about half an hour's worth of pages, he decided to see whether Yukina had woken up yet. He got dressed and prepared a small cereal breakfast.

"I wonder…with all those dishes to wash…did she sleep late?" Ienzo asked himself as he began to pour milk into his bowl. Then he laughed, "What am I worrying about? She can take care of herself!" Then, he suddenly thought about how absent-minded she actually was. "I hope she can take care of herself…" He suddenly noticed something dripping onto his leg. As it turns out, the bowl was overflowing with milk, and he forgot to pay attention.

After that little incident, he went to Yukina's door, and he knocked. When he didn't hear anything, he knocked and said, "Sakuya-san? Are you there? It's me, Ienzo." When there was no answer once again, he opened the door, only to hear a thump.

"Itai…" Someone whispered behind the door. When Ienzo slowly got in and closed the door, he found Yukina with a bruised forehead.

"GAH! Sakuya-san!?" He shouted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come in without your permission…"

"No, no!" Yukina waved her hands around. "It's my fault. I just…couldn't get enough sleep last night."

"So that confirms my suspicions…" Ienzo said under his own breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering…"

"Why I actually slept so late?"

"Umm…huh? Oh yeah! That's it! Yeah…"

"Okay…well…I decided to go out for a walk last night, and I found someone collapsed last night…"

"And you helped him out. How?"

"Well…he was unconscious, and I let him sleep in my bed."

"BUT YOU DON'T KNOW IF THE GUY ACTUALLY BATHES!"

"He seemed clean to me!"

"Well, you might as well wake him up so he can get out of here."

"Actually, Lulu-san said that only certain people can enter this hotel. Doesn't that mean that this man is actually supposed to be here?"

"I don't know. But you better wake him up anyway."

"GOOD MORNIN'!"

"GAH! Who's there!?"

When they turned around, Axel was waving and Roxas was once again eating another sea-salt ice-cream bar.

"So…who were you talking about?" Roxas asked.

"Sakuya-san said that it was some random person that she found collapsed and we want to wake him up seeing as how Sakuya-san brought him in last night."

As she bowed, Yukina said, "Don't worry, I'll wake him up." And then she clenched her fist. "And then he'll have a healthy breakfast!"

"Do what you want, Sakuya-san…" Ienzo proceeded to walk out of the room. As he was halfway out the door, he whispered to himself. "I just…have a bad feeling about this…"

"Ienzo-kun seemed upset." Yukina commented. Then she looked down out of depression.

Axel comforted her by putting his hand on her shoulder and saying, "Don't worry. We know a little bit more about Ienzo than you do, and he'll go off and do his own things sometimes. It may seem a little mean, but…that's Ienzo for you."

Yukina walked over to her doorway and looked at Ienzo, who was now proceeding to go downstairs. She sighed, "Axel-san, it may seem so that you know more about Ienzo-kun, but…he seems different when it's just the two of us…"

Axel smiled when he heard this, but it disappeared when Yukina turned around. "Look, you gotta wake up the dude in your bed and get him out of here."

"Oh! Yes!" Yukina walked over to another room.

"It's only a matter of time, isn't it?" Roxas asked before taking another lick at his ice cream.

"Yup. And pretty soon, the others will be here…" Axel then put his fist in the air. "And we won't let his be the tragic love story drama!"

"Hmm…I did hear them say something about how only certain people could actually see and enter this hotel. Perhaps we should have a look at the new guy?"

"I don't know if it will be of any importance later…but sure."

* * *

"What…the…hell?"

"Do you know him, Axel-kun?"

"You have no idea."

"I'm sorry if my sudden appearance has actually bothered you."

"Like HELL it's bothered me! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE!?"

"Because I was brought here."

"No! Not that! GAAHHH! YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH!"

"Axel-kun, that's very rude."

"WHAT THE HELL IS RUDE!?"

"I couldn't even get a chance to know his name." Yukina bowed at the man sitting up in her bed. "So…let's start over! I'm Yukina Sakuya! And you're name is…"

The man took a deep breath before finally saying his name. "Saix."

"Saix…sama!" Yukina said happily. "I'll call you Saix-sama from now on!"

"Why give me that honorific when we've only just met?"

"I have a feeling you're someone that's very important." Yukina then looked to a now fuming Axel who was now trying to chomp down on a sea-salt ice cream bar, much to Roxas' displeasure. "Yes, you have to VERY important if you can make someone like Axel-kun get angry at the very sight of you."

"Oh, me and Axel go waaaaay back." Saix gave a small smile while looking at the mention redhead.

"I have a feeling I'll be going through hell…" Axel said to himself.

"Sakuya-san…" Came Ienzo's voice from the doorway. "You are going to be late for school!"

"SCHOOL!" Yukina shouted. "Oh dear! I'm going to be late for school!"

She frantically scrambled out the door, and she almost came back changed in a short amount of time. Then with a sigh she quickly said, "I'mgoingtoschoolI'lltalktoyoulaterbye!" And then she ran out the door.

"That was awkward." Saix said after five seconds of silence.

"You're awkward!" Axel shouted. "Why the hell are you here?"

"In all honesty…Xemnas got mad…and attacked me." Saix sighed.

"Wait." Roxas said after biting off a small piece of the ice cream. "Xemnas…mad…at you?"

"Come to think of it…that is out of the ordinary." Axel said while putting two fingers on his chin and staring off at another direction. "I mean…you're practically his right hand man."

"Was." Saix said as he got himself off the bed and stood up.

"I wonder if hell has frozen over yet…" Axel wondered.

"Is this matter that surprising to you?" Saix asked.

Axel then shouted, "Of course it is, you bastard!" Then he ran up to Saix and held him up by his collar. "You know how much hell you've out us through!?"

"Axel!" Roxas shouted.

Looking away, Saix replied, "Enough to know that you and the other neophytes hate me for it."

"Hmph." Axel pushed Saix against the wall behind them. "So you know already."

"Axel…you know, you didn't have to do that…"

"Maybe I didn't, but that doesn't get rid of the fact that he really is a bastard." Axel exited the room.

Roxas took one last look at Saix, who was now leaning against the wall, and left the room. After hearing the door click, Saix slid to the floor. Looking at the ceiling, he sighed, "What did I get myself into?" Then he halfheartedly smiled. "Maybe Axel is right. Maybe I am a bastard…"

* * *

((I'm sorry for such a late update. Better late than never…I guess. There's nothing much to say about this chapter. Other than the reminder to review, there's nothing to actually say here. See you in chapter 5!))


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After yet another exhausting day at school, Ienzo had decided to stop doing the pictures. After raking in more than three million yen, he decided to take up something else as a job. They were all discussing this around the table in Yukina's room seeing as her room was actually the largest out of all of them.

"But what are you going to do?" Yukina asked.

"I don't know what I'm going to do…" Ienzo then took a quick sip of tea. And then he said, "I'll figure something out, it's not as if we'll go bankrupt anytime soon…"

"Speaking of which…" Larxene said. "Saix, what job will you take?"

"I'm with Ienzo on this…" Saix had finished his snack long before the others, and he was simply covering his head on the table with his arms. "I can't decide on a job, but it'll come to me." The last sentence was slightly muffled seeing as he still had his head on the table, which was also accompanied by a lazily waving arm that quickly went back to the wooden furniture.

"Unlike the rest of you…" Marluxia quickly stood up. "I have a job that will earn enough money to make you look like peasants!" As he said this, he somehow had a shower of petals thrown into the spotlight that Marluxia had upon him.

"How'd he get the spotlight?" Axel asked. "Anyways, me and Roxas are going to start up a courier company!"

Saix lazily looked up upon hearing this. "Couriers are the people that deliver stuff but are much better than mailmen, right?"

"That's right, Saix-sama!" Yukina said while patting him on the shoulder. "They get a lot of money! I bet that job would be good for you Onee-chan!"

"Delivery girl?" Larxene took a moment to think about this line of service. "Hmm…doesn't sound half-bad…" She took another minute to think. "I guess no harm would be done. Plus, these two are guys…"

"What do you mean by us being guys!?" Axel got up and pointed at the blonde girl. "Are you trying to be sexist with us, woman!"

"I'm just saying…" Larxene took a bite of a cake, and then she started waving around the fork until she whacked Axel's hand. "The majority of the men in the universe are usually sloppy and disorganized. You need a female in the group so you can keep it all together without your company falling apart."

Waving around his hand and hissing at the pain, he looked back to the blonde woman and gave off a smirk. "Are you sure you don't just want the money."

"I do want the money." Larxene admitted.

"HA!" Axel once again pointed at Larxene's face, only for it to be stabbed this time. "HOLY CRAP! THAT HURT!"

"I want the money…" Larxene took another bite of cake. "…but I can't get the money if you guys will be slipping up all the time. And there are two more things I want to point out."

"What are they, Onee-chan?" Yukina asked.

"Number one…" She quickly squeezed Axel's hand as it was about to take the fork away, which made him curse silently as he pounded his free hand onto the table and his leg on the floor. "Number one is that it's rude to point. And number two…"

"What is it?" Saix asked as she stopped.

"Number two is that…Axel's blood and icing doesn't taste all that bad."

Everyone fell silent after that remark.

"Saix-sama…this conversation seems incomplete without you hardly contributing." Yukina pointed out. "I know! You just need something to drink…something with caffeine…that's it!"

Yukina got up, went to the kitchen and prepared several cups filled with drinks. She served everyone a cup. With a smile, she said, "Drink up, everyone!"

"But, Sakuya-san…where's my cup?" Ienzo asked.

"Don't be such a glutton! You already have your tea!"

While everyone was drinking, Saix simply stared at his cup. After a few seconds, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. Not wanting to be the center of attention, he went ahead and drank what was in the cup…only to spit it back out onto the table.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Everyone shouted.

"That stuff is hot." Saix said calmly. "I'm surprised my tongue didn't get burned."

"You've…never had coffee before?" Yukina asked.

"So that's what this stuff is called…coffee…" Saix blew on his cup and tried to take another sip, thinking that it should have cooled down. "This time, the coffee's too bitter."

"Oh! You're supposed to put some sugar in it!" Yukina pushed the cup filled with sugar cubes towards Saix and he took two cubes.

He tried to take another sip. "It does taste…pretty good. But maybe a few more would do…" Saix put three more cubes into the cup. And he took another sip. Then he finished up the rest of the cup in no time.

"I take it you like coffee, then?" Yukina asked.

"Yes, it's pretty good."

"Would you like a refill?"

Saix nodded and had his refill. He finished that one, and wanted another one…and another one…and another one. It was obvious to everyone at the table that he was addicted to coffee.

* * *

He casually stepped out of his conjured up portal, carrying his beloved panda doll. He jumped up and down happily upon immediately seeing the hotel that everyone was staying at. Taking a pair of binoculars, he tried to search around the windows for his two targets. When he saw the ensuing scene concerning cake and forks, he smiled.

"Darn…" He sighed. "I wish I could've been part of the fun…" Then he raised up his panda friend into the sky. "But we're going to fix that, won't we, Mr. Dan-Dan!"

He wanted to run straight up to the building and kindly ask for a word with the two, but everything around him seemed so interesting. Coming from a world devoid of any modern technology whatsoever, he examined and observed everything he could find, deterring him from his goal.

"This is the first time I've gone here without anyone coming with me…" Demyx sighed. "I might as well enjoy myself!" He put the panda doll on top of his head and walked around the stores.

The first thing he noticed was the TV that seemed to look at his every movement in front of the store. Initially he passed by, but then he saw himself when he turned his head over to the right. He simply stared at the TV for about fifteen minutes, until the old man managing the store scared him off.

"That old man was mean…" Demyx sighed. "I wonder what else I can do here…"

He walked for a bit until he saw another electronics store. Avoiding the televisions sets the store had to offer, he seemed interested with a small electronic device called an iPod that was from another country. Demyx thought of the devices as convenient and he wanted to see how much they cost.

"That much?" Demyx asked while he scratched his head. The sign read 7500 yen, which was equivalent to just as much munny. "I'll never get it…"

Unfortunately, his sadness had formed as sudden shower inside the store, thus destroying all the merchandise. He was then run out from the store. He sighed as the door was slammed behind him. Deciding he should simply stay away from all the stores, he went to the nearest park.

"Mr. Dan-Dan…" He said as he looked to his panda. "Today isn't going very well. At this rate, I'll never get 'em and then I'll be turned into a Dusk for sure…"

He slapped himself and then he felt something tap his head. When he looked up, he saw a cat jump off of his head and steal away Mr. Dan-Dan. He quickly began the chase and followed the cat, begging for it to stop and give him back the stolen plush, but to no avail.

* * *

"I smell…something." Ienzo said while setting his cup on the table.

"What do you mean, Ienzo-kun?" Yukina asked.

"Did someone break wind?" Axel asked.

"No, it isn't like that." Ienzo thought about it a little more. Then he looked to the window. "I don't really know what it smells like…someone else is here…" Everyone looked confused upon this statement.

"Try describing it as a color…?" Yukina tried suggesting.

Ienzo closed his eyes, and upon opening them again, he said, "Blue. More like a dark blue. I can't really tell which shade, but…it looks like blue."

"Blue?" Larxene repeated. "That's it. Demyx is here." She clapped.

"Demyx?" Yukina and Ienzo asked.

"Demyx is—!" Axel would've finished his sentence if it weren't for Saix who cut in.

"Another acquaintance of ours." Axel growled at Saix in response, only to be silenced by Larxene as she kicked him in the stomach.

"Down, boy!" Larxene shouted. Axel hissed at the pain and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"Why am I a dog?" Axel asked. He was silenced once again by Larxene hitting him in a spot lower than his stomach. Axel was practically squirming in pain at this point.

"Well…" Ienzo stood up, and so did Yukina. "We're going out for groceries, you guys take care of the Demyx-person."

"We'll see you in two hours!" Yukina said as she walked out of the door.

When the both of them were gone, they all wondered what they should actually do with the Demyx. They were taking up space pretty quickly seeing as it was just a five-story building. Should they boot him out? Or should they just let him in? But if they let him in, that would mean more of a racket. They brainstormed for about ten minutes, which actually helped Axel recover. Larxene sighed and then stood up.

"We're not going to do anything by sitting around here." Larxene said impatiently. Then she stood up and walked towards a window. "As for me, I'm going to drag Demyx over here."

"I'll just stay behind and take a nap." Saix said while exiting the room.

"Wuss." Larxene said upon his leaving.

Larxene went ahead and jumped out the window. Everyone decided to follow her. Larxene dived down headfirst into a portal and when she popped out on the other side, she ran through the city in top of the buildings. Noticing the other three right behind her, she smirked and decided to go faster by running on the telephone wires.

"CHEATER!" Axel shouted. "No using your elements in racing!"

Larxene laughed, "Says you!" She went even faster by using the electricity to "surf" the wires.

"Seems like we have to go faster." Marluxia smiled. He quickened his pace to the point that the others could barely see his movements. He went fast enough to be on par with Larxene.

"PRICK!" Axel shouted once again.

"We have to pick it up, Axel!" Roxas yelled. Suddenly he disappeared as well.

"DAMMIT!"

Axel, now seething with rage, decided to leave the others in the dust by propelling himself forward with his flames. Upon passing the other three, he laughed out in pride, only to crash himself into a billboard and land in an alley filled with trashcans below.

"Looks like you went too fast." Marluxia giggled as he jumped down into the alley.

"Shut the hell up." Axel said as he tossed away a banana peel from his head.

"Axel, make sure you take a shower after this." Larxene said as she spotted a piece of moldy bread on Axel's shoulder.

Axel was angry enough to unconsciously engulf himself in flames, which was doused when a random person from a window poured water on top of him. Axel's flames, along with his rage, were now extinguished. Now he simply sighed and decided to slowly walk the rest of the way to Demyx's location.

"Why didn't we ever think of that?" Larxene asked the others as she saw Axel silently walk off. Marluxia and Roxas simply shrugged.

* * *

Grabbing their bags filled with various food items, they began walking back to the hotel. For an unknown reason, they both stayed silent with each other. They would both stare at each other for varying amounts of time, but when both of them opened their mouths to talk, the words couldn't come out. So, right until the hotel, they stayed quiet.

"You two look as if someone ran over your puppy." Lulu commented upon seeing them walk through the door.

"No animals were harmed during our grocery trip." Ienzo stated.

"That's right!" Yukina pointed out. They both looked at each other again, and then they both looked away. Both of them were blushing, and they hid it from each other. If looked at from another point of view, it would seem pathetic.

"You two seem so cute together!" Lulu yelled out happily while clapping her hands together.

"C-Cute?" Yukina asked hesitantly.

"Together!?" Ienzo asked in the same manner.

"Of course!" Lulu then walked up to the both of them, took the groceries, and then pushed them towards the sliding glass doors. "You two need to have more time together, so scram!"

Upon being forced out of the doors, Ienzo decided to march back in. Seeing Ienzo's expression, Lulu made it so that the doors wouldn't open. Ienzo stomped on the mat, but it wouldn't open. After banging his head on the door, he decided to walk off.

"Ienzo-kun, seeing as we're locked out, we might as well go somewhere, right?" Yukina asked as she tugged on Ienzo's sleeve."

"Sakuya-san, I just don't know where to go." Ienzo said while he looked at the ground in depression.

He said this because he had only a week's worth of memories. He still didn't know where to go, what to do, or even what his favorite color would be. When selecting clothes to buy, he'd let Yukina choose for him. And whatever was on his plate, he'd eat it, whether he would like it or not. This kind of lifestyle didn't exactly seem to bother him, but he didn't know what he should do about it. And he certainly wouldn't put all of his choices on Yukina's "Fortune Ladders."

"Ienzo-kun?" Yukina said while poking him on the shoulder. "Are you okay?" Ienzo quickly nodded his head. "Do you want me to pick again?" He quickly nodded his head once again. Yukina looked in another direction upon seeing his face.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Ienzo asked.

"It's just that…" Yukina felt this rapid beating in her heart just then, and she couldn't believe it was happening again. She knew that her face was starting to turn red, and so she quickly looked the other way. What she wanted to say was that she didn't want Ienzo depending on her so much, and at the same time, she didn't want Ienzo to end up being lonely. Needless to say it was a mixed feeling, but as anyone would figure out, she couldn't say this at the time because of her current condition.

"Sa-Sakuya-san?" Ienzo asked. Apparently he was feeling the same thing, albeit his face was less red, and he was able to calm his heart down.

"Milk!" Yukina said while clenching a fist in the air. "We need to buy milk!"

"Milk?" Ienzo asked.

"Of course!" Yukina turned around and pointed straight in Ienzo's face. "You need to get taller! Much, much taller!"

"Taller…" Ienzo measured with his hands and wondered how much taller he would get. He started with his head and slowly elevated his hand upwards. "This tall?" He said while looking at his hand.

Yukina simply paid him no mind as she was already crossing a stoplight. Ienzo rushed over without looking at the passing cars. Yukina looked back as soon as she heard a car's horn, and for some reason, she didn't see Ienzo on the street. She was very confused at this point and expressed this through scratching her head. When she turned back around, she felt something against her head. When she looked up, she saw Ienzo.

"I-I-I-Ienzo-k-k-kun!" She stuttered as she began to hyperventilate. As a result, Ienzo put his hand against her forehead. They both took a long look in each other eyes. She wondered why she never took the time to look into his eyes like this. She thought Ienzo's eyes were beautiful, to an extent. She noticed that Ienzo's face had turned a very light shade of pink that was barely noticeable, but noticeable nonetheless.

"Are you okay, Sakuya-san?" Ienzo asked as he did his best to keep his calm composure.

"I'm…fine…" Yukina replied. Noticing that a few people, mostly couples, were looking at them, she quickly took Ienzo's hand and began to walk off.

Ienzo raised his hand as he began to say something, but then he decided to drop it and he went ahead to follow Yukina. Then he saw her enter an electronics store.

"Sakuya-san?" He entered the store. Then he saw her pick out several cellphones. She gave the man some money, signed something and then walked back to Ienzo and tossed him a black cellphone. "What's this?" He asked as he pressed several of the buttons.

"That's a cellphone." She said as she smiled confidently. "It's something we can use to contact each other." This time, Yukina was the one being ignored as she saw Ienzo toying with the buttons, and then she heard several ringtones. When she also saw that the man at the desk was staring at them, she pushed Ienzo outside of the store.

"So…how do we contact each other?" Ienzo asked as he took another step forward. He then had something thrown at his face. He saw several words, and noticed that it was a booklet for the cellphone. "Thank you for the booklet! I'll use it wisely!"

Yukina stopped halfway in her step and slapped herself on the forehead. Ienzo seemed deterred by this and he quickly put the book away. He wondered why Yukina was acting strangely. But, not wanting to but into her business, he dismissed this and continued to follow her.

* * *

"GRAAAAAH!" Larxene shouted. She punched a crater into the nearest building, which scared the hell out of everyone. "WHERE THE HELL DID THAT LITTLE TWERP GO!?" She readied her arm for another punch that probably would've bent the building's infrastructure.

"Now, now…" Marluxia held Larxene's punch in his hand, and patted it. "Let's just handle this—" Marluxia was silenced as a well-aimed kick upwards sent him flying.

"GENTLY?!" Larxene repeated loudly. "HOW CAN I HANDLE THIS GENTLY!? JUST THE THOUGHT OF THAT LITTLE TWERP IS PISSING ME OFF!"

"Larxene…" Axel started while he lightly tapped his ear. "We're right in front of you, you know."

"That little twerp…" Larxene turned the other direction and clenched her fists in the air. "ONCE I FIND YOU, YOU'RE DEAD!!" She shouted. In her rage, she had unintentionally attracted some attention. Then she looked at the spectators. "You got something to say!?" They quickly began to walk away.

"Behold, her Iron-Maiden-ness." Axel said while Roxas silently clapped.

"WHY YOU—" She was interrupted as her shoulder was held back by a recovered Marluxia.

"Now, now…" Marluxia took her fist once again and patted it. Larxene glared at him angrily. "We must handle these things with—"

"SHUT—GAAAH!" When Larxene was about to punch him again, she fell over due to two rose vines wrapping around her legs and binding her to the asphalt floor. "DAMMIT MARLUXIA!"

"…Care! Now we shall retrieve our panda-wielding nocturne!" Marluxia shouted…before Larxene grabbed his leg and he fell over as well.

"I hope you don't mind, but…" Roxas started.

"We are going to find Demyx." Axel continued.

"Just you wait!" Larxene yelled after them when they began walking. "I'm going to get out of this mess after I kill this guy's ass!"

"Be my guest." Axel responded by waving his hand around.

* * *

Despite Ienzo's efforts to keep up, Yukina had lost him, and now both of them were wandering around in the city. Yukina liked the idea of wandering around lost in such a large city like theirs, but seeing as Ienzo had learned practically nothing about the city, he seemed pathetic constantly asking for directions.

"The afternoon seems so quiet today." Yukina said to herself as she walked around the perimeter of a park. "I know! I'll get myself some of that ice-cream that Axel-kun and Roxas-kun like!" Then she racked her brain as she tried to remember something. "What was the name of that flavor?"

"Sea-salt ice cream." An eerie voice replied behind her. Her heart nearly jumped at the sound, but she calmed herself down when she saw who it was.

"Saix-sama!" She smiled. "Thanks for answering my question!" Yukina didn't know what else to say at this point. But then she kindly asked, "Would you like to have some ice cream?"

Saix was somewhat jarred by this question. He never had anyone be so nice to him before. Needless to say, he was that socially inept. He decided to go along with it as best as he could. "Umm…sure?"

"Okay!" Yukina quickly ran over to the nearest ice cream cart and proceeded to make her purchase.

"I've always wondered why everyone in the Organization was so attracted to her." Saix said to himself. "She's my opposite."

Saix continued to watch Yukina buy the ice cream, but then he saw her let several other people go in front of her. Seeing as this would probably take a few more minutes, Saix walked over to a nearby bench. He then sighed, "It's either she's really generous…or really stupid." Thinking about his previous actions towards the others in the past, he lowered his head into his hands.

"Saix-sama, you look sad." He heard upon receiving a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Yukina with two sea-salt ice cream bars. "Is there something I can help out with?"

"I-I'm fine, Yukina." Saix replied. For him, it felt rather weird when he addressed her in that way, seeing as he was used to referring to her with either her old name or her old rank. Yukina sat down with a confused face upon hearing this. "You shouldn't really worry about me." Saix said when he saw her face.

"Are you sure?" Yukina asked with her voice filled with concern.

"I'm sure…" Saix said as he looked the other way.

"Okay…"

The two sat quietly for only a few moments, with Yukina fidgeting in her seat every few seconds or so, while taking small quick licks at her ice cream. Saix did the same, except he didn't bother to start on his ice cream. It was a good thing the ice cream wasn't melting yet.

"Umm…" Yukina started, not wanting to contain it any longer. "I want to know what's going on." She said hesitantly. Saix looked back to her with a surprised look on his face. "I know there's a problem, so I want to help you solve it!"

Saix sighed, and then he began with his story. "Before you met me, I was always giving the others trouble." Saix couldn't believe he was telling this to someone who probably might not understand. "Most of it…I was just trying to save my own skin. I would always hurt the people around me…so I guess it's right that they would hate me as retribution. I'm not anyone that should be looked up to."

Yukina, not knowing many people in her life until this point, couldn't exactly see where Saix was coming from. Despite this, she wanted to help in anyway she could. So, she put her hand on his shoulder. Saix looked at her with a confused look on his face. She smiled and calmly said, "It doesn't matter what you did before. Dwelling on what happened before won't help anyone. If you keep moving forward, everyone will forget what you did before you know it!"

"Forward…" Saix said while looking down at his ice cream. Realizing this as an unusual thing to do, he chomped down on the first half of the bar.

"And…Saix-sama…" Yukina started while she got up. "You can consider me your friend! It will be a great start!"

Friend. His first one. And who would have thought that he would find his first friend in this idiot of a girl. An idiotic and hopeless friend, but a friend nonetheless. He smiled and got up. Then he looked at his ice cream. He put what was left of the ice cream in his mouth and threw the stick away. Then he pointed to Yukina's ice cream.

"D-Do you want my ice cream?" Yukina asked. Saix shook his head.

"You should start soon. Eating the ice cream, I mean." Saix pointed out. "I think it's starting to melt."

"Oh, right!" Yukina smiled. "I don't know why everyone dislikes you, but…you're really nice!"

"I am?"

"Of course But…" Suddenly Yukina pointed at Saix's face. "You need to make more friends! And get a job!"

Saix simply nodded. "Can I just get myself some coffee after—"

"Oh no!" Yukina shouted. "We have to find Ienzo-kun!"

Yukina took Saix's arm and dragged him off in a random direction. Saix gave off a frown as he jumped over several bushes, thinking that he wouldn't get another cup of coffee in the next hour.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ienzo was wandering the streets looking for either his white-haired friend or someone named Demyx. Ienzo sighed, thinking that it would be impossible to navigate around a city he hardly knew about. Ienzo leaned against a telephone pole and tried to think about what he should do. Suddenly he felt something against his leg. When he looked down, he saw a cat with a panda doll in its mouth.

"Umm…hi." He said to the cat. The cat started rubbing against his leg. "I guess that means you like me." He bent down to take the panda doll and he stared at it. "Why would you have a doll in your mouth?" The cat licked its paw. "Of course you can't answer me." Suddenly the cat ran off in a random direction. "That was odd. It gives me this doll, so what am I supposed to do with—"

"Mr. Dan-Dan!" Came a voice from Ienzo's far right. When Ienzo looked over, a blonde teenager instead greeted him by crashing right into him at a high speed. "Sorry. I just wanted to get my panda back!"

"It's fine. Just…watch where you're going next time." Ienzo rubbed the new bruise on his head.

"Hey! I know you!" Demyx pointed at him. "You're Little Bookworm!"

"Little bookworm." Ienzo repeated. Over the week, he has been repeatedly referred to by that name, and apparently, this was the last straw. He suddenly punched the stranger in the face, and shouted, "DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO BE CALLED BY THAT NAME!?"

Undeterred by the sudden attack, Demyx got up and snatched the panda doll from Ienzo on the floor. "That was kind of mean, you know. It's not okay to punch people you've just met, even if they call you an unwanted nickname."

Ienzo had noticed something when the stranger crashed into him. It was the same smell as before. The smell of the ocean, but at the same time, it smelled like something of the darkness. Ienzo had this bad feeling at the pit of his stomach, but he decided to ignore it. When he got up, he asked, "Your name is Demyx, correct?"

"Awesome! You know my name!" Demyx jumped up and down in joy.

"So you're Demyx-kun!" Shouted an all-too familiar voice. Yukina and Saix came running up the street. When the two of them stopped, Saix bent down to take a much-needed break, as he was exhausted.

"I know your face, but 'm not sure about your name." Demyx shrugged. "Let's see if I can remember…" Demyx put Mr. Dan-Dan on top of his head as he tried to think. "Yuki-chan, right?"

"Yuki-chan?" Yukina asked. Then she softly hit herself on the head. "Oh, I get it now." She said while looking slightly embarrassed.

"Yuki-chan! I'll be calling you Yuki-chan!" Demyx said while pointing up in the air.

"Okay!" Yukina smiled. "Let's go back to the hotel! I'm pretty sure everyone's waiting for us!"

"Hotel!? You live in a hotel!?" Demyx asked excitedly.

"That's right, Demyx-kun!"

"Will there be inflatable furniture!?" Demyx asked again.

"I'm not sure…"

"Let's go anyway!"

"O-Okay!"

As Yukina started leading Demyx to the hotel, Saix and Ienzo followed. Ienzo kept a close eye on Demyx.

"Something wrong, Ienzo?" Saix asked.

"Before, I could smell something…can't tell what it was, but I think it was his scent." Ienzo covered the bottom half of his face with his hand.

"You're right. But…is there another scent?"

"The scent…it's different from when I first caught a whiff of it. It's almost…tainted."

"How can that be?" Saix whispered under his own breath. "For Demyx's scent to be tainted is almost…impossible."

* * *

The group consisting of four went right back to the hotel when they couldn't find Demyx, but upon entering, they found out that Demyx had been there, along with Ienzo, Yukina, and Saix.

"WE SPENT NEARLY TWO HOURS LOOKING FOR YOU!" Larxene shouted while she pointed at Demyx.

"You said it yourself, earlier…" Axel sighed happily. "It's rude to point!"

"Shut the hell up! I don't need anything from you!" Larxene yelled back at him.

"Surprised to see me?" Demyx asked.

"To hell with you!" Larxene shouted upon running off to her own room.

"Seems like we're all done for today, so I guess we'll all just retire to our own rooms." Marluxia sighed with disappointment.

Axel and Roxas agreed, and so they all went back to their own rooms. As if knowing what Ienzo was thinking, Axel gave Demyx a cold stare, which ended with Demyx smiling back at him, as if nothing was wrong. Axel tried to ignore him. At the very least, Axel knew something was wrong with the new guest. Ienzo and Demyx decided to call it a day as well, and left Yukina in her room. Ienzo's room was next to Yukina's so it was barely a walk. Ienzo could still smell the scent, so he looked back to Demyx one last time. And, as if on cue, Demyx gave a smile that almost seemed…scary.

"Good night, Little Bookworm!" He said as he ran off to his own room.

* * *

((I was probably doing it too much, but that was practically foreshadowing future chapters. I read over the other fanfic and I noticed that I was deterring the characters from what they usually did in the games. Like Axel's "Got it memorized?", Zexion's ability to smell the scents of other people, etc. So I decided to make use of Zexion's (or Ienzo's) ability. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, and review!))


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been two days since Ienzo and Yukina had met their newest friend, Demyx. Demyx was always energetic and outgoing, which made him differ from everyone else. Yukina, being the optimistic girl that she was, always thought that nothing would go wrong. But Ienzo, on the other hand, had this feeling at the bottom of his stomach that something would go wrong, and that Demyx would be either the cause of it, or at least be someone involved. He always felt uneasy around Demyx, but tried to keep it to himself as much as he could, because he didn't want to spoil the fun that those two were having almost all the time. Ienzo had also noticed that they were growing considerably close.

Ienzo was pondering all this while accompanying Yukina on her way to high school. He never noticed Yukina glancing back at him every ten seconds or so. Yukina noticed something else at this point. She wasn't blushing, or having her heart beat rapidly. Was this good or bad? She couldn't tell.

"Sakuya-san…" Ienzo said suddenly. She nearly jumped. After letting her take a few seconds to breathe, Ienzo asked, "Are you…okay with Demyx being with us?"

Yukina felt relieved at this question, happy that it wasn't too serious. "Of course I'm okay!" She answered energetically. "Demyx-nii is like a replacement big brother! Hence the 'nii' in his new title!"

'Oh sure!' Ienzo thought. First, he would be playing the big brother role, and then they would get closer, to the point of…what point would that be? "I…see…" Ienzo walked ahead, while Yukina stayed in the same spot for a few moments. When he looked back, she was still in the same spot. "Sakuya-san? Are you okay?"

"So…you're not okay with Demyx-nii?" She asked. Ienzo could hear a bit of depression in her voice. Knowing that she took it the wrong way, Ienzo slapped himself and calmed down. "It doesn't concern you, but…" Ienzo looked up in the sky, and then with gritted teeth, "Something…doesn't feel right with him."

"Are you sure you didn't eat a bad breakfast?" Yukina asked.

"I didn't eat anything bad, because I've been having this feeling ever since he came." Ienzo started walking again, with Yukina following close behind.

At last, they arrived at Outo High, but the both of them were caught off guard by seeing buses lined up by the sidewalk. The only teacher there informed them that there was a field trip that day, and Yukina simply forgot about it. Then there was another matter that all the other teachers that were supposed to be chaperoning had something bad in their lunch and they all got sick, so their crisis was that they needed to grab eight more chaperones within the next ten minutes or there would be no field trip.

"I have an idea." Ienzo stated.

"You do!?" Yukina asked excitedly. "Who will be our chaperones?"

"Guess. I dare you."

"You don't mean…?" Yukina got even happier before she could even finish her own sentence. She jumped up and down in happiness.

"Just take it with a grain of salt." Ienzo said while setting her on the ground. "I'm not sure they'll be willing to do it." Ienzo then took out his cellphone and held it up in the air. "I have finally conquered it."

"Your cellphone?" Yukina asked.

"Yup." Ienzo dialed everyone at the hotel, and tried to see if they would comply with his request.

"Hello?" Axel asked on the other line.

"Axel, Sakuya-san and I have a favor for everyone at the hotel." Ienzo answered.

"A favor?" Axel shrugged before listening intently.

"Just get everyone over to the high school." Ienzo scratched his head.

" Okay, sure." Axel complied before hanging up.

"Looks like they'll be here soon." Ienzo said when he flipped his phone back down. Ienzo was wondering how they would all be reacting to becoming chaperones for Yukina's field trip. Marluxia would probably be the only one okay with it. As for everyone else, he wasn't that sure. And he was still suspicious of Demyx. Should Axel actually go along with it, Roxas would probably go with his group. Who knows what Saix or Larxene would be doing.

"Probably—" Ienzo was cut off by the sound of a text message from Larxene reading: _"We're here already."_ This surprised Ienzo. "Where would they show up?"

Ienzo's question was answered by a large amount of squeals coming from the buses. They were already there. "How did they get there so fast?"

The entire high school erupted with squeals, screams, and digital camera flashes. Almost everyone was very popular, especially with the girls. As for the boys, they were scratching their heads, wondering how they all lost potential girlfriends to complete strangers. Larxene, due to her attitude, wasn't popular at all, and simply growled at the people who tried to approach her.

"Ohaiyo!" Yukina greeted with a wave. Everyone else returned the greeted with waves of their own.

"Yuki-chan!" Demyx ran over and hugged Yukina very tightly. Yukina simply smiled.

Many girls were green with envy when they saw that the visitors were her friends. Larxene understood the situation and scared them away with a glare that would frighten even the toughest man there. Yukina was thinking about how all them were there for a simple favor, and also how they all seemed to always be there for her. Yukina had never known what having a family had been like, but she felt that this was certainly it. However, it got to the point that she was almost about to cry tears of happiness, she quickly dismissed the thought and started explaining why they were all there.

"Okay, so everyone's here?" Yukina asked. They all nodded after a head count. "Everyone knows that the entire school is out gathered by buses, right?"

"That's obvious." Larxene replied.

"Well, Ienzo-kun called you guys over to tell you that…" Yukina started fidgeting, and then she took a couple of deep breaths. Everyone noticed immediately that something was wrong, but they disregarded it to not put her on the spot. "Well, you guys are all here because you're all supposed to be chaperones for our field trip!"

"Is that really why we're all here?" Saix asked.

"I'm afraid so." Ienzo answered.

Larxene, obviously not being the sociable type, sighed and asked, "Where are we going?"

Yukina noticed her distress and tried to think up of something to make Larxene a little happier. "They said it was going to be a surprise! But that means we can always hope for going to more interesting places and if we don't go anywhere exciting, we can always make new plans to have more fun—"

"I get it!" Larxene started grinding her fist into Yukina's head. "Just stop acting like I'm going to get upset about everything!"

"But you always get upset about what we say!" Demyx protested with a pout.

"That's because you're not an adorable ball of annoyance and sunshine like she is!" Larxene said while pointing to Yukina. Yukina thought that as long as they were a family, they would have their own family spats as well.

Roxas, being the same age as Yukina, simply tagged along in the bus ride. Axel took the news quite well, and commented that he should pick out which "chick" would be his girlfriend, much to Larxene's disgust. Marluxia talked on and on about how he would "educate the youths of this bland high school and fill it with beauty". This time, it got on both Axel's and Larxene's nerves. Saix didn't say much, but he went along with it anyway. Ienzo was fine, until he saw Demyx. He disliked it whenever he had Demyx within his sight. Yukina took a moment to talk to her teacher about which group she would be in. Ienzo felt anxious about it. He didn't know why, but he felt as if Yukina should be in his group. Ienzo gulped as soon as he saw Yukina running back.

"Which group are you in?" Ienzo asked.

"You'll never believe it!" Yukina smiled. Ienzo felt confident and thought for sure that she would be in his group. But with a smile, Yukina happily said, "I'm in Demyx-nii's group!"

"Wai—Wha—EH!?" Ienzo stuttered and heard the words echo over and over in his head. She was in Demyx's group. Ienzo couldn't stand it, and he gave out a loud frustrated sigh. However, Yukina couldn't see what was wrong.

"What's wrong, Ienzo-kun?" Yukina asked.

"It's…nothing!" Ienzo smiled while grudgingly putting thumbs up. "Everything is A-OK!" Ienzo then trudged off towards the nearest wall and sulked.

"What's wrong, Little Bookworm?" Asked someone from behind him. Ienzo raised a fist in response and was stopped by a hand topping his forehead and keeping him at bay. Ienzo stopped squirming when he saw that it was only Larxene.

"Larxene-san, what do you know about Demyx-san?" Ienzo asked calmly. At least he tried, because at this point, even speaking his name out loud bothered him. Larxene noticed and messed up Ienzo's hair a little bit, before letting him go so he could fix it.

"I get that with Demyx and little Yuki being close, you're bothered." As subtle as Ienzo was, he couldn't hide it, and he nodded slowly. "Don't worry about it." Larxene said upon pulling the hair that covered his eye. Ienzo batted it away. "They won't get any closer. And if he does, you would do something about it."

"What do you mean by that?" Ienzo asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"I see that you're still very far from understanding." Larxene lightly pushed down on Ienzo's head much to his annoyance. "You'll figure it out." Ienzo just stared as Larxene went to board one of the buses. To him, Larxene wasn't the type that would give remotely, if not exactly, vague statements like that. But it was true. He didn't want them to get closer.

"Don't worry about it, Ienzo-kun." Yukina said when she ran past him. "You'll have a great time!"

"I hope so." He said to himself before he went onto his own bus.

* * *

As what was considered a make-up by Ienzo, he was able to board the same bus as Yukina and Demyx, and decided to sit one row behind them so he could listen to any conversation they might have. Unfortunately, Ienzo had to do his best to avoid the constant chatter of girls about him. It was okay to be the center of attention of conversations once in a while, but for an hour-long ride? That was almost impossible to bear if you're trying your best to eavesdrop on someone else's discussion.

"Yuki-chan, you seemed somewhat depressed when we got on the bus." Demyx started off. "Even Mr. Dan-Dan noticed." Demyx took his stuffed panda out and poked Yukina's cheek with its arm.

"Demyx-nii…" Yukina sighed, "I was wondering if I should ask the teacher if I could switch over to Ienzo-kun's group. Because…he seemed so sad when he told me that everything was going to be fine."

"But he was giving off this creepy smile, and actually giving a thumbs-up sign!" Demyx shouted. "He isn't the kind of person to do that kind of stuff! It looked downright creepy!"

"So you were listening in on our conversation?" Ienzo said under his breath. "I. HATE. HIM." Ienzo said with gritted teeth and a clenched fist.

"I know that Ienzo-kun is more introverted than most…" Yukina replied. Ienzo quickly leaned over her seat, and tried to listen on what she was going to say. Pretty much contradicting the reason why he started hating Demyx. "Ienzo-kun seems…lonely most of the time, and I want to help him out a bit."

Ienzo quickly fell back to his seat when he saw Demyx take a quick look at him. Then Demyx smiled again and said, "Little Bookworm can take care of himself!" Ienzo felt himself boil with rage as he continued to listen. "Some problems could only be solved by the people who have them. So don't worry about it!"

Right lesson. Wrong time. And Ienzo couldn't take much more of this. "HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SAY THAT!?" He shouted. Ienzo was lucky that the whole bus was talking at once, otherwise all the passengers would be looking straight at him. Instead, it was cut down to both Demyx and Yukina staring back at him. "I-I-" Ienzo suddenly got his idea of what to say. "I was just listening to the girls conversation back there! So…DON'T MIND ME!"

"Okay!" Yukina and Demyx both went back to talking, and Ienzo slowly slipped back into his seat.

"This has got to be one of the worst days of my very short life." Ienzo sighed as he covered his face with his hands and gave out a sigh. What was he getting so worked up over? He asked himself that question. It was a question he couldn't seem to find the answer to. It seemed as if Yukina could be possibly adding more to the fire seeing as she's constantly looking as if she has no idea what's going on and going about her own business. And yet, Ienzo always seemed concerned about her well-being. Always there to correct her mistakes and always there to protect her from harm. He knew he cared about her, but was there something more?

Yukina looked back to an Ienzo deep in thought. She was wondering what he could be thinking about. He was deep in thought, but at the same time, he looked aggravated. Was it possibly because of her? She always tried to keep an air of happiness around him, but was that getting on his nerves? Maybe. Yukina sighed as she thought that her efforts to help him were giving the opposite effect. She felt a hand on her shoulder, giving her a feeling of security and reassurance. She looked to her left to find a smiling Demyx.

"If you want to go sit back with him, it's okay!" Demyx said with a smile.

"I think that would help him out a lot." Yukina got up and bowed to Demyx. And afterwards, she sat next to Ienzo. Yukina was surprised by the fact that Ienzo didn't notice her. He was leaning lazily against a window, not knowing where he was looking due to some of his hair covering his right eye. She tried leaning over and waving her hand in front of his face. But then she noticed he was asleep.

Demyx observed from the small crack between the seats to see how Yukina was progressing. He went over things in his mind, thinking how this would all turn out. Should he just let the whole thing go altogether or follow through? Either way, he thought that he would never get either result off of his mind. His choices would affect the members of both parties. Would it be better to be eliminated or to prolong his own "existence"? All of this was racking Demyx's mind, so he decided to think about something else. He sighed as he took out Mr. Dan-Dan.

"At least you'd stick with me, wouldn't you?" Demyx asked. Being an inanimate object, of course he wouldn't answer. Whichever answer Demyx took, he was content. He lightly tugged on a small red scarf he had bought for the panda earlier and set Mr. Dan-Dan on the seat next to him.

To get Ienzo to wake up, Yukina made good use of her femininity and slapped him against the window. Not being one of much strength, Yukina thought it didn't do much, but to her surprise, she saw Ienzo rub his eyes, and then his hand lazily drifted down to his now bruised cheek. He turned his head to see Yukina sitting next to him, and waving.

"Do you know who attacked me?" Ienzo asked.

Yukina suddenly panicked and unintentionally attacked herself with a barrage of questions. Would Ienzo get mad if he found out it was her? Would they still be friends? Would this somehow be resolved through a tragic turn of events? "I-I don't know who attacked you! They must have been silent but deadly!" Yukina shouted out.

"Okay. Fine." Ienzo leaned back toward the sun stained window to go back to his nap, but then Yukina pulled back his shoulder, which caused Ienzo to look back with confusion. Suddenly, there was something that made the bus jump, and in turn, it caused Yukina to fall into Ienzo's lap.

But before either of them could react with blushes growing redder in rapid succession, they were interrupted by a camera flash directed straight at them. "That's a keeper!"

"Mark down one for a new photo album." Roxas commented upon receiving the photo.

"Axel-kun!" Yukina yelped before jumping back up in her seat. "It's not good to blackmail people!"

"But it's soooooo much fun!" Axel whined. "And besides, if I want to make you two go on a date, I'll use this as leverage!"

"Say what!?" Ienzo, in response, tried to stand back up to pummel the red head, but another sudden movement on the bus' part had caused them to all land in awkward positions.

"That's a cool landing pose, Axel-kun!" Yukina pointed out. Axel had landed against a wall with his stomach against said wall and feet practically on top of his spiked head.

"If by cool, you mean painful, then yes. It is VERY cool." Axel snapped back.

"It looks like the bus has stopped." Roxas commented.

Everyone proceeded to get off, except for Demyx, who seemed hesitant to join the others. Before the doors closed, he was able to squeeze out with Mr. Dan-Dan. Demyx fumbled about with the panda, and the girls all squealed when he suddenly looked their way for a last-minute head count. Yukina waved goodbye to all of them as they proceeded onward with their field trip. Ienzo was reminded once again how he disliked Demyx.

* * *

Demyx and Yukina started off their field trip in the zoo like any other field trip would start, they would pick up tickets from teachers, enter the park and get maps. But the maps weren't of much use if the girls would only follow wherever Demyx was with hearts in their eyes. Demyx, wanted to visit the polar bears, as a substitute for the lack of pandas, but he made an excuse to go to the restroom.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" He shouted out in the middle of a walk. Everyone turned his way. "Seeing as Yuki-chan is the only one with a map, I'll have her lead me to the nearest bathroom! So…wait there until I come back!" Demyx pointed to two benches.

All the girls sighed in depression and walked over to the benches to sit. After Demyx saw that they were all present and accounted for, he jostled Yukina along to the polar bear exhibit.

"Demyx-nii?" Yukina asked hesitantly as she and Demyx swerved through the crowd. "Why are we leaving all the others behind?" What she got in response was a simple smile when Demyx turned back to her. But it wasn't the fact that he answered her in such an oblique way that she was left perturbed. It was the fact that the smile seemed to be confident and at the same time, it left her disturbed. And on that note, Yukina tried to keep her eyes on the swiftly passing ground while Demyx pulled her along, not knowing if Demyx would look back at her again with the vague smile. Even if Demyx wasn't looking at her, she would be staring at the panda doll he would carry around him, with it now being loosely tied around his neck with the red scarf.

"You seem quiet, Yuki-chan! Cheer up!" Demyx seemed to be quietly laughing while he tried his best not to push his way through the crowd. Despite the fact that Yukina couldn't really stand to look at him right now, she was relieved. Being around the crowd made her feel uncomfortable, even to the point where she could almost throw up, but at least Demyx's laughter was something to break through all the senseless chatter of all the conversations they were passing through.

* * *

With Ienzo, all of the girls, not only in his group, but whichever female he passed by, they all seemed to swarm around him like bees. Ienzo was downright irritated by it, so he made up the excuse of going to the bathroom. Original. He was safe, at least for now.

"I'm free of company." Ienzo sighed to himself. Though he was still uncomfortable with all the people around him. "This must be what Sakuya-san feels like." He stopped in his tracks, and checked around him to see if there was anyone following him. When no one was there, he sighed in relief. "What am I getting worked up over?"

He continued to pass all the other visitors to the zoo, and decided to look at the first indoor exhibit he happened to pass by. He had the recurring thought of how uncomfortable he was back there. He wasn't really bothered all that much, but when he saw how Yukina freaked out on her first day of school, he began to worry. Her phobia seemed to be really serious and thought if it would get worse, being in a park like this. Unknowingly, he began to walk faster. Sakuya-san would be scared, he thought. Very scared. He wanted to be there for her, and comfort her in some way. Ienzo began to realize how concerned he really was for Yukina. But for the first time, he seemed to feel…insecurity. Insecure about both of their feelings. Ienzo knew that he would come to terms with his own heart, but would Yukina come to terms with him? He thought about Yukina being taken away from him. Then the thought of Demyx came to his mind, being the one to take her away. He shook his head to get all of these confusing thoughts off of his head. Yukina could handle herself. Couldn't she? Maybe it was her being scatter-brained that caused him to worry. Who would actually want to see someone hurt themselves like that? And if Yukina wanted to get close to Demyx, then it was her choice.

"_They won't get any closer. And if he does, you would do something about it."_

He remembered what Larxene told him before they got on the bus. He wasn't sure if Larxene would be right about them getting closer, or if he would do something about it. But then again, she had "woman's intuition" on her side. Ienzo guessed that being one of the female gender had advantages. He shrugged off what he just thought and continued walking.

* * *

They got to the polar bear exhibit, which was actually a well-lit underwater tunnel in which you could actually watch both polar bears, and a number of other arctic animals swim around. Demyx and Yukina sat on a bench in the tunnel after getting themselves ice cream. They both got chocolate-banana flavors, seeing as they didn't have sea-salt popsicles. Yukina pressed her back against the smooth, cool glass after finishing only half of her ice cream. Demyx quickly finished his own ice cream at a trashcan conveniently placed next to their bench.

"Demyx-nii…?" Yukina asked. Demyx turned away from the glass and turned to Yukina. "Why did you bring me here, with you?" Yukina felt like running away for no apparent reason. Was this what Ienzo felt when he first met Demyx? Her words that morning seemed so cold, and right now, she wanted to find him as soon as possible, and apologize. But how could she apologize?

"I brought you here because…" Yukina snapped back to reality when she heard Demyx speak. "I wanted to ask you something, and no one else can actually hear it." Demyx wondered if he should actually pull this right now. Was it the right time to actually ask her? How would she react? Demyx panicked, and instead asked another question that was actually on the same, if not, higher level of importance. "What are your feelings toward Little Bookworm?"

"Ienzo-kun…?" Yukina asked to confirm what she had just heard. Demyx nodded in response. "My feelings…towards him…are…" She couldn't answer. _She couldn't answer._ Why? Whenever she thought of everyone else, she smiled and thought about the fun that they would spend in their time together. But whenever she would add Ienzo to the picture, every part of her, including her heart, would stand still and frantically choose what to do. She tried to put a lid on this feeling, and tried to act happy and scatter-brained in front of everyone. But was all of that for nothing if someone new like Demyx knew right away? "I'm sorry, Demyx-nii. I can't answer your question."

"You can't?" Demyx asked to confirm. Yukina quickly nodded her head quickly. "Let's just enjoy ourselves here!" Demyx put his hand on her head, and then he slowly trailed it down until he reached the end of the strands of white hair. "If it bothers you so much, don't think about it. But don't neglect those thoughts to the point where it disillusions yourself. Your happiness concerns everyone. So, be who you want to be." He twirled his finger around several of the strands of her long hair before letting go and turning towards the swimming animals.

It amazed her how mature Demyx would be if he wanted to. From his appearance, the words that would strike anyone would be: "happy-go-lucky". But there was more to people than just appearances. "He's…kind of like me." Yukina accidentally thought out loud.

"Who's kind of like you?" Demyx asked.

"N-Nothing!" Yukina leaned her head against the glass, only to be surprised when she saw a polar bear pressing its paw against the glass where her head was.

"Polar bear-chan likes you!" Demyx pointed out. "Take a picture with cellphone!" Demyx actually took out his own cellphone and took said picture of Yukina and the polar bear.

Yukina smiled at the polar bear and took out her light-blue cellphone. She and Demyx sat closer together and she took a picture of all three of them. Even after the picture, the polar bear continued to stay. "Hey, Demyx-nii."

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that animals can usually tell when disaster can strike?" Yukina said with an ever-happy tone. "In rare cases, they can even tell who the disaster will strike to."

Demyx, catching every word, lowered his head into his hands, and he began to cry as quietly as he could, but Yukina noticed nothing. "Kind of ironic, don't you think? I think this bear has a slight mistake. I don't think something bad is going to happen to me, because everyone would be there to protect me."

Demyx felt something eating away at him, and it actually started to hurt him on the inside, and he tried his best to not let Yukina notice. "I'm so grateful to have everyone there for me. And I really am thankful for you and the others as friends. I mean, you even act like a big brother, Demyx…nii?"

Demyx noticed Yukina hold his hand, and instead of comforting him, it hurt him even more. It felt as if he was being ripped in two. "If there's something wrong, you can tell me."

"I-I…" Demyx choked out his words, but suddenly, he didn't feel like crying anymore. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"Roxas, for the last time…" Axel turned to push his friend out of his depression. "STOP SULKING JUST BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A SINGLE STORE THAT DOESN'T HAVE SEA-SALT ICE-CREAM!"

"But, I need to have at least one every day!" Roxas whined.

"That's unhealthy—" Axel was suddenly interrupted by a series of loud beeps that came from the red cellphone in his pocket. He flipped it open and read a text message: "I'm really sorry, but I had no choice." Axel saw Roxas receive the same message on his multicolored cellphone of white and black. "Let's see who sent this…" Axel's eyes widened as he read the name.

"Bathroom!" Roxas shouted to the girls in their group. Then he ran off into the crowd, along with Axel.

* * *

All the others had the same reaction, and they all came up with the same excuse to get away from their company. The one person who needed to hear the news but didn't get it was Ienzo, who was in the midst of feeding fish to penguins in an open exhibit. When he was about to throw his last anchovy, he suddenly felt a shock go up his spine. It was none other than Larxene, who pinched the pressure point near his neck.

"What was that for, Larxene-sa—" He received a kick to his shin and was roughly pulled by his collar towards the entrance of a broken and flooded tunnel exhibit. Everyone had blank expressions on their face, which wasn't saying much for most of them, but even Marluxia seemed to be in a state of pure shock from whatever reason.

"What's everyone doing here?" Ienzo asked, while he noticed how his heart suddenly quickened its pace of beats. "Why isn't anyone in a fight, or at least saying something?" He removed Larxene's hand from his collar and then he noticed how they were all carrying their cellphones, he read that the lids all said something about 1 text message.

"So you really don't know?" Saix said, to break the silence. "The text message everyone else received…has an apology."

"From who?" Ienzo asked.

"It was from Demyx." Marluxia said in a monotone voice that surprised Ienzo. "Demyx is gone, and so is Yukina."

"Put two and two together…Ienzo!" Larxene said. The fact that she wasn't referring to him as "Little Bookworm" was scary enough. "Do you know what this means!?" Ienzo stood there as he lowered his head. "You're not saying anything! So I'm putting more emphasis on it!" Larxene took Ienzo's collar again, and screamed in his face, "BOTH OF THEM ARE GONE! DEMYX KIDNAPPED YUKINA! AND YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT EVEN WHEN YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! YOU KNEW—!"

"SHUT UP!!" Ienzo shouted out with tears forming in his eyes. Larxene slowly put him down. "Say anything. Anything. Just…please. Don't…don't make all of this…"

"We shouldn't make all of this your fault?" Axel said, surprisingly in the same tone he had since they met. "I'm not sure if we should just let you off the hook like that."

"Face it, Ienzo. Just face it." Roxas added. "She's gone. And you're the one who didn't prevent this from happening."

* * *

((Kind of angsty, don't you think? I'm really sorry for later and later upates. I hope you can bear with me. School is getting tougher and tougher and I can't put 100 on this. And one last thing, I don't feel like putting up Japanese chapter namings anymore. Heh. Like always, review.))


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Yukina, I've brought your lunch." Demyx said in an unfamiliar tone. At least, it would be unfamiliar to the ones who didn't witness Yukina's kidnapping a week from before. This was his daily routine for the past seven days: waking up, giving Yukina food, and waiting for the right time to sleep and repeating the process. When he went back to the castle with Yukina, everyone ignored him, to an extent.

"Demyx-nii, you can go back to calling me 'Yuki-chan' like you used to."

"I…just don't feel comfortable with what I was calling you before." Demyx said as he looked down in sadness. Who would actually go back to normal after kidnapping one of the people they were close with? Demyx sighed, and opened up a portal into Yukina's cell.

"Okay, I'll go with whatever you call me." Yukina said as she smiled. Unfortunately, her cell, unlike all the other cells they had in the other parts of the dungeon, was pitch-black the moment you enter. So Demyx wasn't able to see it and relieve himself of any feelings of guilt he was somehow able to feel without his heart.

"Are you still okay with what I did?" Demyx asked. The guilt still eating away, he tried to affirm any negative notions Yukina had on him, which would seem impossible to others, with Yukina always being happy. But Demyx could see—even when she was still one of them—that she had this partial feeling of sadness that would either grow or wither back every day. Demyx did his best to cheer everyone up before, but the method never worked. Demyx gave up on these acts and went on with his life of completing missions that he would usually fail at. Instead, Xunakiy came along and brought that glow wherever she went. But now, Demyx thought that it was all for nothing due to one act of selfishness.

"I'm fine with it, really." Demyx was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard this, and he felt like crying again. "Don't be sad or anything. It was for your own well-being, so don't regret anything. Life is too short to live with regrets, so stand by all your choices. It makes you who you are right now."

This statement, even though it was meant to encourage him, actually made Demyx feel even worse. Even now, Yukina was still forgiving him. Were there no bounds to this person's kindness? But even so, Demyx felt like committing suicide than listening to all of this. Her words were filled with concern, but he felt as if there was still something she was sad about. '_I'm causing it. I'm causing all of this. If I had just chosen to die instead of going on like a coward, this never would have happened. We never would have met, and she wouldn't be sad if I die. It's all my fault._'

-------------------------------------------------------

The others back at the hotel, were trying to go back to their own 'daily lives' as they also tried to figure out a way to get past a newly made barrier and get into the castle. Marluxia went back to his flower shop for the day, and managed the customers—mainly girls—he got that day. Unlike the other days, when he would go on and on about what each flower represented and how beautiful they were, he simply stood behind the counter and waited for each of the customers to pay for their flowers. His gloominess had affected his business, and with each passing day of no white-haired maiden, he lost his flamboyancy as well as his regular visitors to the shop. Even his flowers, while still looking healthy, didn't seem as beautiful when Marluxia first opened up shop.

"When will we ever get our leading lady back?" He asked himself. Depressed, he flipped around the sign, to signal that the shop was now closed for the day. He sighed as he walked through the shop and tended to his flowers.

Marluxia had noticed that there were several petals falling from some of the flowers he passed by. He didn't bother cleaning up said petals, or try getting any happier. Marluxia suddenly noticed that one of his flowers…actually died. He picked out the flower from its bouquet and sighed as he held the withered, brown plant in his hand.

"How long will this keep up?" Marluxia asked himself once again. 'Just a week ago, she was here, and she was smiling. But now, it's starting to fade. What would she do in this situation? Tell me to cheer up? To try something else? What could it be?' Marluxia walked around his shop a little more, not noticing that he still held the dead flower in his hand. "We'll try to bring her back, so that we all won't be moping around like Ienzo anymore. That's what she would tell us, anyway." Smiling, he brought the dead flower back to life, and set it in another bouquet.

--------------------------------------------

Axel, Roxas, and Larxene had a good enough start with their courier service when they refurbished a dilapidated and abandoned building they discovered near the other side of town. They had several requests every day, and they always seemed out of it when conducting deliveries around their district. They—like Marluxia—had a rough time without Yukina cheering them up when they got back from work.

"This week…has been gloomy." Roxas said after sitting on the nearest chair.

"Of course it's been gloomy," Axel replied. Even Axel wasn't in the mood for making some sarcastic comment towards his friend. "Yuki's been kidnapped by Demyx, which makes it even more surprising." Axel reflected on their harsh words spoken to Ienzo. He was the only one who didn't receive the message, so he wouldn't know anything. Even if he had received it, there would've been nothing either of them could do. '_As smart as I am, even I could make some bad moves. I need to get that memorized._'

"But…how are they treating her?" Larxene asked. When Yukina was still 'one of them', she was particularly close to Larxene as a big sister. Even now, Larxene still valued Yukina as a sibling, and as the eldest, she felt the need to protect her, despite having the personality of a sadist. "I hope they aren't doing anything that bad to her." Larxene choked a little when she said that, because that was one of the first times that she showed concern for someone other than herself. 'That little idiot is also being so stupid. Why'd she have to get herself mixed up in all of this? She doesn't need this when she's getting closer to Ienzo each passing day.'

"And if they are?" Axel asked in return.

"Then there's going to be HELL to pay!" Larxene shouted.

"Well, what do you know? Our little Yuki is contagious." Axel sighed.

Larxene growled at this comment, having been notorious for keeping the others in line with lessons of pain and agony, which even feared the higher-ups. But now, she was only moderately angry with the others, instead of constantly causing them pain in every waking moment. Larxene, still trying to keep her notoriety, simply growled. Axel smirked, knowing that it was obvious that Yukina's kindness was "infecting" said sadist. Roxas seemed a little uneasy about Yukina's kidnapping as well, despite being one of the more introverted members, next to Saix. Roxas noticed that even Saix had changed, even though he wasn't smiling at all, one could feel that he was content. Repeating all these thoughts, he sighed and got up from his seat. Both Axel and Larxene, stopped when they were almost about to kill each other, and turned their heads.

"When are we going to figure out a rescue plot for Yukina?" Roxas asked, without any clear doubt in his voice. "Surely, we can't leave Yukina rotting in whichever dungeon cell the others in the castle have her in?" This was very different from Roxas was before, being the silent one that he is. Before, he would talk and listen only to Axel, and occasionally, Demyx, who had now betrayed them. But now, Roxas talked more with everyone, even if they weren't people that he liked. Roxas understood that Yukina, being the foolish and amazing idiot, brought them all together, even when she was hurting inside. '_When we get her back here, we'll make her smile, even if it would take a long time._'

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Larxene growled with a clenched fist in the air. "As of now, we will no longer be collecting dust from where we stand! We shall fight and continue the soap opera that will soon have its leading female role back once again!" Larxene felt rather proud when saying this, knowing full well that all of these events would play out like a cheesy soap opera that you would find on the television. They were all actors, and each of them were playing their own part, and she smiled again due to the thought that this was probably breaking the fourth wall by even thinking this.

Once again, Axel smirked, and said, "Apparently, Yukina isn't the only one contagious. It seems that we all can't live in such close proximity of each other without catching someone's traits with us…" Axel was waiting patiently for Larxene's reaction, and in the back of his head, was actually thankful for that one person that Larxene reminded him of just now.

Larxene, puzzled by this comment, ran through who Axel was talking about. Obviously, Axel wasn't referring to himself or Roxas, while that certainly wouldn't fit for Ienzo or Saix, which left…

"_That's right! It is I! The youthful, beautiful, and most of all, graceful Marluxia! Ah ha ha ha ha!_"

"DAMMIT!" Larxene yelled out in frustration. "THAT SICK BASTARD CAN JUST GO TO HELL AND ROT THERE!!" Larxene turned around and punched the nearest wall, leaving a simple, neat, and at the same time, clear note of her immense strength in the form of a crater. Marluxia, even when being gloomy about Yukina's disappearance, still had traces of his usual personality. The flamboyancy and stupidity of his acts annoyed others to no end. While Larxene was mimicking him in an unintentional way, she was still upset by the fact that it resembled Marluxia in any form.

"That's flower-guy for you!" Axel shouted before doubling over, laughing.

"It seems you are a victim to your own statement." Roxas pointed out. Axel turned around and stared at his blond friend. "Despite his short stay, he was actually able to rub off on you. Be that a persona, it still could have influenced you in some way or another…"

Axel, unlike Larxene, immediately knew who Roxas was talking about and tried to restrain himself from actually strangling him. But then, during those thoughts of the mentioned person, he suddenly remembered him, which upset Axel very much.

"_C'mon Mr. Dan-Dan! Play with Axel-chan!_"

"_Oooh! Sea-salt ice cream! Can I have some, Axel-chan!_"

"_Yuki-chan! Axel-chan is being mean to me!_"

"DAMMIT!" Axel turned around and started punching the wall in the same manner Larxene was doing earlier. Demyx was annoying, to a point where it could drive you insane should you stay in the same room with him for an hour. And that panda did nothing but intensify the pain set on by the salt on the wounds.

"When shall we start?" Roxas asked, which snapped the two out of their anger and rage.

"Start…what?" Larxene asked.

"When shall we commence our as-of-yet unknown plan to rescue Yuki and the romance of the year?"

"We'll have to get everyone together and discuss it. You know we can't take on the others by ourselves." Axel explained.

"So…when everyone comes home, we'll shove it in their faces?"

"Hells yeah!" Axel shot a fist up the air in triumph. "Finally, no more moping around like Ienzo!"

----------------------------

Ienzo sat on the rooftop, staring at the city's buildings and all of their residents. He kept a face filled with depression as he watched the people walk by the hotel. Some of them kept walking straight ahead, trying to get where they were going. But others were laughing with friends as they walked or ran along. What made them so happy? Was it just because they're with people they were close with? Ienzo thought about the others one week from before. They all blamed him for losing Yukina, for losing that smile, and losing what seemed like a candle of light to all of them. Because of their painfully true statements, he had avoided them since that day. All week he would just come to the rooftop to stare at everyone below. '_Why the hell were they all so damn happy_?'

"Sulking won't solve anything."

Ienzo paid no attention to the voice and simply stared down. Saix sighed in response and sat down next to him, while letting one of his legs dangle off the edge. Saix didn't say anything after his question from before, and looked straight up in the sky. Saix did his own recollection of what he remembered of Yukina. Long white hair, azure-colored eyes, and a smile no one would forget. She was kind and usually—if not always—hoping for the best in whatever they did. But all that wouldn't be there from the start. Saix knew that she had to go through a lot for a girl that seemed so pure. '_She had probably felt so much pain, and there's more that she can't even remember_,' Saix thought.

He looked to Ienzo one more time and said without expression, "Yukina wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this." '_Ironic. I was going through the same thing not too long ago. I really shouldn't be talking but this is the best way I can get through to him._'

"It doesn't matter what she wants for me. It all doesn't matter anymore. Even if there was a way to get her back, there's always the chance that the opportunity would pass and we'd feel like complete imbeciles," Ienzo sadly stated.

"There's practically nothing to lose when you hope for something," Saix replied. "The only time when you really are an imbecile is when you never try."

'_It doesn't matter what you did before. Dwelling on what happened before won't help anyone. If you keep moving forward…_' Saix looked back on that day, when Yukina agreed to be his friend. He gave out another sigh, but this one was filled with contentment. As soon as Ienzo heard this, he felt most of the tension in the air around him become a lot lighter. Ienzo noticed that Saix's scent was lighter than when they first met.

'_Did Sakuya-san really effect him as well? If she did, it was to a high extent. Even if he wasn't smiling, he still seems happy that he left his group from before_,' Ienzo pondered. Ienzo looked back to his times with Yukina, and gave a small smile. Whenever she was around, there was a glow that warmed Ienzo down to his core. It was a nice feeling, and Yukina seemed so happy to be there for everyone, making the feelings mutual. She was like the world's smallest candle, that did so much for them, as they were all drowning in their darkness-ridden souls.

"You want to get her back?" Saix asked confidently.

Ienzo didn't think twice about saying, "Of course I do!"

Saix took out two cellphones. One was his own dark blue, and the other was black. Ienzo snatched back his own cellphone quickly, and noticed how the lid read '_You have one missed call!_' He pressed the button on his cellphone and put it up to his ear. '_WHAT'S UP LITTLE BOOKWORM_!!!' Ienzo heard Larxene shout. Ienzo immediately switched his phone to his other ear to relay the message, while at the same time, rubbing the now-injured one. '_Stop sulking and we'll all meet up in your room! We'll get your girlfriend back!_' Ienzo gingerly rubbed his other ear. But then Larxene said that they were actually going to rescue Yukina. Did they actually have a plan for that?

"What do you make of this?" Ienzo asked.

"I have faith in them." Saix sighed. "At least there's something to look forward to. Better than sitting around and collecting dust."

------------------------------------

Ienzo and Saix proceeded to go downstairs and meet up with everyone, as instructed in Larxene's deafening—if not, energetic—message. Instead of finding something to ambush them, like a bucket of water on top of an open door or at least a trap for unknown purposes. But instead, Saix and Ienzo found everyone sitting chairs and watching television.

"If you don't minds me asking, what are you watching?" Ienzo asked. He heard several battle cries from the characters on-screen. As he looked closer, he saw people dressed in what looked like a colored cross between jumpsuits and spandex. They were all fighting some weird-looking enemy that resembled an animal and also kept pulling out special weapons to attack said enemy.

"We're watching something called Sentai." Roxas explained. "The heroes are regular teenagers, who are suddenly recruited by an unknown stranger who then gives them the power to change into costumed super-heroes in order to combat a sinister evil that has been released onto an unsuspecting city and/or town. We're watching a marathon."

Ienzo looked even closer and found the villain growing to an immense size and the heroes gaining machines that linked together to form another larger machine that soon combated it's opponent. "This looks like some kid's show."

"That's because it _is_ a kid's show." Marluxia replied. He—as well as everyone else—wondered why they were watching this anyway. At the very least, they all found it amusing to find teenagers, at Axel's age, constantly shouting out the obvious and getting hit by attacks that would be easy to dodge. Another reason they liked it was because of the agonizingly long attack sequences that made their own attacks seem like they transpired in the blink of an eye.

"The thing I hate is that they have a total lack of female characters n this show!" Larxene growled. It reminded her of how there was only two females in the organization consisting of fourteen.

"Why do you all watch it, then?" Saix questioned. "Surely there must be some rationality to keep all of you fastened to the couch like that? You could at least watch something that piques all of your interests…"

"There isn't anything good on right now." Axel responded empathically. "But this is interesting and they have these little sideshows that show what the teenagers do after they kill the bad guy. It's like a one-way mirror to show what _regular_ teenagers would do. Plus it would be fun to actually our attacks like that."

"Then we need to choose colors." Roxas suggested. "Axel will be red, AKA the leader." Everyone else besides Axel frowned at the thought, while Axel held a look of pride upon his face. "Larxene would be yellow, the person who likes curry." Larxene looked bothered, but not too much, which made Ienzo wonder if she did like curry after all. "Marluxia will be pink, the girly member of the group." Instead of lashing out, Marluxia looked pleased upon this statement, prompting Larxene and Axel to move away from him. "Ienzo will be blue, the person who conflicts with the people around him and strives for a purpose in life."

Ienzo actually paused for a while before actually responding with something. '_Maybe there is something wrong with me. I don't really interact with everyone except Sakuya-sa_—' He stopped his own thoughts as he mentally slapped himself.

"I can only imagine what my color will be seeing as blue is already taken…" Saix sighed as he shook Ienzo's shoulder, prompting Ienzo to get back to everyone.

"I know!" Roxas shouted. "You'll be one of the rangers that joins later in the game! You'll be navy!" Roxas seemed content upon saying this, and Saix couldn't help but curl up his lips into a small smile.

"Finally, something about me to actually be knowledgeable." Saix sighed. "I think I'm the kind of character that would at first be antagonistic towards the heroes and then joins the team due to his negativity towards the big bad guy." Everyone was surprised upon the statement, seeing as Saix was actually entertaining the thought of being part of a Sentai team. But they were even more surprised by the fact that Saix smiled.

"What color…would Demyx-san be?" Ienzo asked sadly. From what he saw in Demyx's text message, he was sorry for actually doing what he did. It must've been painful to carry that burden; the guilt of hurting your own friends would be hard to carry indeed. And even if he did betray them, inside, he was still their friend. "Surely you must've thought of that?"

"I'm not really sure what color Demyx would be…" Roxas sighed. "No wait! I got it! He'll be another special member! He'd be something like silver! I'm going to be gold, so maybe we would be at ends? We kinda are, but indirectly, I guess…" Roxas went on about which color Demyx would be if silver wasn't suitable.

"On the other hand, how are we going to get into the other side's stronghold?" Ienzo asked once again.

"We have no idea…" Larxene sighed, much to Ienzo's frustration. As much as they wanted, they couldn't open up portals to the castle. This made Larxene wonder, '_How did Xemnas pull of something like this. I know the extent of his powers, but it's nearly impossible to block any passage into the realm of nothingness._' "Any ideas of how to enter the castle without the use of portals?"

"I believe I can help you with that." An eerie voice stated. Though the others never interacted with her often, Ienzo was able to start up conversations with her from time to time, a result of Yukina's friendliness towards everyone she meets. She kept a low profile, and was almost always doing something within the confines of her own quarters, but that was only because people never spoke to her often.

"Lulu-sama!" Ienzo exclaimed upon her entering the room. With an unusual dress that had it's lower half consisting almost entirely of belts, and her hair put up in an unorthodox way. She wore a stern look upon her face, which was different from her usually charismatic persona; she wore more makeup than usual, having purple lipstick and eye-shadow, making her appearance a little bit more scary. "Why are you wearing that costume?"

"It's what I wore, some time ago…" Lulu answered. "Like the rest of you, I come from yet another world. But, I was only able to come here at the price of not returning to my original world. I'll do what I can, to help you retrieve Yukina." Lulu's voice, as well as the rest of her, was changed, to sound deeper and apathetic. "This little one would help you." She held up Mr. Dan-Dan to the rest of the group, which shattered the tension in the room.

"Why are you referring to the panda as a person? It's a thing!" Axel shouted. "And even if it were alive, I'd bet a thousand yen that Demyx got its gender wrong!" Axel took the panda doll and tugged on its scarf.

"Axel, that belongs to Demyx. Should we see him soon, we should return that to him." Roxas tried to reason out. The panda, though inanimate, did deserve some respect.

"But this…thing!" Axel shouted. "Why the hell does Demyx even carry this thing around!? Is he just some mental case or something?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lulu instructed. "That doll is actually—" Axel paid her no heed as he proceeded to slam it against a wall. It was harsh, but it was now proven that Axel hated every fiber of Demyx, which even extended to his personal belongings. Axel, picking up the panda doll again, was now planning to throw it out the window. It was a deed no one actually rejected, but they found it a little sad and even cruel in some ways. "Red porcupine, I think you should just put the doll down."

"I'm not a red porcupine, and I'm just going to get rid of this thing!" Axel was about to throw the doll, but suddenly, it fell to the floor, and mysteriously landed on its own feet. "What the hell?" Axel questioned. He began to bend down, to pick it up again and start his second assault, but it ran off towards Lulu. '_How the hell is that thing alive? But if that doll is alive and it ran over to her…does that mean that she's both a figurative and literal witch?_'

"This doll is filled with a soul." Lulu answered. "I'm not sure if your friend has known that this doll is alive, but it seems that he was at least aware of the item having feelings." Lulu bent down, to pick it up, and it ran up her arm and rested on her shoulder. Everyone else, except Axel, looked on in amusement, as if expecting this to actually happen. "This doll has been filled with a soul for quite some time. A good estimate on my part would be about fifteen years, with frequent gaps of vacancy in the recent year."

"What does…" Larxene shuddered midway through her sentence. "Mr. Dan-Dan have to do with the unexpected blockade of the castle?"

"This one…" Lulu held out her arm and Mr. Dan-Dan sat upon it. "has—not only a soul—but unique powers as well." Marluxia looked off in another corner of the room, as if trying to silently figure something out. Lulu noticed this notion. "All this doesn't come as a surprise to me, because I have active dolls on my own. They don't have souls, as this one does, but they're alive all the same."

"That's not what I'm questioning." Marluxia spoke out. "This doll…has to have some method of entering the castle, right?" Lulu nodded. "So it can actually be safe to assume that it also has a way of exiting safely, am I right?"

"I'm not sure, Prince of flowers…" Lulu, while slightly lowering her head in uncertainty, Marluxia did the opposite and held a face of pride. "But what I am certain of…" Lulu raised her head up in confidence. "…is that this doll will break through the outermost defenses of the castle that is holding Yukina captive. That much, it will do."

"Never thought that you'd actually come in handy…" Roxas sighed, obviously referring to the panda doll. In a way, the panda doll turned around, as if it was blushing. "What method will we be using to enter the castle?"

The panda doll raised its arm up, but Lulu gently patted it down. "I don't think it's time yet. Make sure that everything is prepared for, and that you are confident…" Lulu suddenly had a deeper tone in her voice, if that was possible, and finished her sentence with assurance. "That you are fully prepared to succeed in your mission…or die without any possible regret."

There was a long silence in the room, before Marluxia smiled and said, "I'm sure that they wouldn't actually try to kill us!" He waved his hand up and down in assurance, but seeing as it came from Marluxia, it wasn't that assuring. "At a time, they were our friends, so I doubt they'll try to kill us."

"But the same could be said for you." Lulu countered. Marluxia's smile faded away, as she continued. "The ones who you call friends would probably take advantage of your premonition. As your friends, you would actually go easy on them as well. But in doing so, they would take advantage your time of weakness."

"I got it, I got it." Marluxia sighed; for once, his flamboyancy was countered with the cold, hard truth.

"Like I said before, make sure you are all fully prepared to rescue her…or die trying." Lulu repeated before exiting the room without the panda doll.

'_Astounding.' Lulu thought as she walked down the hallway. 'The only thing I can't figure out is why the doll continues to stick with that group even after his owner leaves him. Perhaps it's expecting something of one of the other members. Whatever the case, I don't have any doubts that this rescue will be a success._'

Meanwhile, the others stared at the panda doll while it continued walking around the room. Gradually, they were all getting over their shock and moving on to the more important matter of how they would actually prepare. Was there really the need to prepare for anything?

"The witch is right," Larxene sighed. "We need to make sure we strike hard and fast, and we leave them as bloody pulps."

"You're going to enjoy that, aren't you?" Marluxia asked.

"Hells yeah!" Larxene shouted. "I appreciate Yuki for trying to help me with my anger management, but it's been too long since I actually got into a bloodbath!"

"But what do we have to prepare for?" Roxas asked. "Do we need to pack food, or something?"

"Maybe she meant mental preparation?" Saix suggested.

"That hardly clarifies things even if it's the answer." Marluxia replied.

"Here's a question for our happy group…" Axel began. "How will Ienzo help if he doesn't have any of his abilities? And with his memory loss, I doubt he could use them efficiently even if he did somehow regain them."

"That's right…" Roxas responded. Everyone turned to stare at Ienzo, who was getting himself a snack from the refrigerator. "He would be getting in the way if we let him go with us. And if we didn't succeed, who knows what they'll do to him if he's the only one standing?"

"There are so many downsides to this." Marluxia sighed in depression. "Can there be at least one upside to bringing him along. Chances are, he'd be devastated should we leave him behind."

"I doubt it."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ienzo asked as he leaned forward. Everyone jumped up in response to his question, which made Ienzo suspect that they were all talking about him, which of course, was correct.

"We were just talking about you." Saix replied confidently, which angered the other three in the room. "We were all agreeing on how we would let you tag along with us."

Ienzo's face unknowingly brightened, "Umm…okay." As he walked off he suspected that something was up with their decision to tell him what they were talking about.

"Are you serious, Saix?" Axel asked angrily. "We just went through what would happen if Ienzo goes along with us!"

"Don't worry, I have a plan…"

-------------------------------------------

They all resolved to leave tomorrow morning, as it was already getting late. They all went to their own rooms early, to think about how they would rescue Yukina while staying alive. To their surprise, they lost sight of the animate panda doll, which was actually staying in Ienzo's room. Ienzo walked into his room, and collapsed onto the bed.

"Were they serious?" Ienzo asked himself in doubt. "How would I actually help the group?" He felt something drop on his back, and immediately knew that it was the panda. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he reached for the doll and positioned it in front of his face.

The panda doll stared on at Ienzo, who sighed, "I forgot. Apparently, you can't talk."

The panda doll ran on the bed, and took Ienzo's cellphone out of his pocket. Ienzo, who wanted to sleep, closed his eyes and buried his face into his pillow. The panda, trying to get Ienzo's attention, repeatedly nudged him, to which the panda got no response. Getting an idea, he opened up the phone and went to where the ringtones were. After raising the cellphone to the highest possible volume and positioning it next to Ienzo's ear, the panda pressed a button…

"HOLY CRAP!!" Ienzo shouted as he heard the ringtone blast into his ear, which had been injured earlier by Larxene's loud message. In addition to shouting out in pain, he unintentionally rolled off the bed, which earned Ienzo more hisses in pain. "NOW I KNOW WHY YOU CAN STAND THAT ANNOYING MUSICIAN!!! YOU'RE JUST AS TROUBLESOME!!" Ienzo shouted when he grabbed the panda.

The panda, looking as if it would cry, released itself from Ienzo's grip and ran off to a corner of the room. Ienzo rubbed his ear and noticed that his cellphone. Growling, he walked over to the panda and tried to take his panda back. The panda, reluctantly gave it back due to the threat of being stepped on.

"Thank you very much." Ienzo flipped the cellphone and looked for damages to the item that Yukina bought for him. "What the…" Ienzo noticed that Mr. Dan-Dan was actually going to send a text message to Yukina, which surprised him. "Well, at least you have your uses." He tried calling, but it didn't seem to get a signal. It only allowed text messaging.

'_sakuya-san, R U there?_' Ienzo sighed as he pressed the buttons quickly. He confirmed that this would be the only time he would use texting terms. Waiting for about ten minutes, he sighed again and closed the phone. Suddenly, he received a text message on his phone.

'_im here,_' was what the text message read. Ienzo, now smiling and feeling grateful toward the panda, was actually happy that the panda nearly deafened his ear.

'_r u okay?_' Ienzo repeated his text message out loud before actually sending it.

'_now i am._' Ienzo was getting even happier with the text message he received just now.

'_how r u over there?_' He hoped that she would reply with another cheerful message, but he was responded with a depressing answer.

'_im lonely and i need someone here. just talking to you isnt enough. i want to actually see you._' Ienzo felt guilt hit him in the heart. Though it seemed everyone had forgiven him, he recalled that it was his fault that Yukina was kidnapped. '_will i see you soon?_'

Ienzo noticed that Yukina was only using lowercasing her letters and decided to text normally. He was also comforted by the fact that Yukina had forgiven him as well. '_tomorrow, me and the others are leaving to get you back here._'

'_see you soon?_'

'_of course. its a promise_.' He wasn't sure if a promise would be okay, but he went along with it anyway.

'_okay. good night._' Reluctant to let the conversation die, he sent another text message, to which he got no response.

"At least she's alright." Ienzo assured himself. "Tomorrow's going to big, but we'll handle it. I'm not sure what I could do, but I'll do as much as I can." With those words, Ienzo slept, only to have Mr. Dan-Dan crawl into the bed with him. Reluctantly, Ienzo went along with it.

----------------------------------

Ienzo woke up and met up with the others patiently waiting outside. Unfortunately, they looked as if they could collapse at any time. Cautiously, Ienzo asked, "I take it everyone didn't get a good sleep?"

"For a short period of time…we did." Roxas answered.

"But this frickin' panda!" Axel took out the panda and was holding it by its head. "It went to all of our rooms and annoyed the crap out of us!"

The panda waved at Ienzo, who waved back, much to everyone's anger. Marluxia signaled for the panda to send them to the castle, and the panda jumped onto the floor and raised its hand. Axel, Larxene, and Roxas looked at Saix, who mention that he had a plan. As if on cue, Saix ran up to Ienzo and punched him on the stomach, really hard, anyone would add.

"But…the promise…" Ienzo weakly choked out before passing out on the ground.

"Looks like Ienzo will break his promise." Marluxia sighed. "I knew there must've been something wrong when you said that you had a plan…"

"There's nothing we can do about it now." Saix insisted. "We need to go before he wakes up."

When they all turned around, Mr. Dan-Dan conjured a portal. The portal was different from the ones that the others would make from time to time. Instead of obsidian, the portal was more of green in the center an lined out with black.

"Are you sure we should be trusting this thing?" Larxene asked. "For all we know, we could be walking to our own doom."

"Do you want to save Yukina or not?" Saix asked.

Without a word, the others walked into the portal, with Roxas taking one last look at Ienzo before passing through the portal and joining everyone else. Mr. Dan-Dan closed the portal and decided to sit beside Ienzo's unconscious body.

'But they said that I would come with them. I also promised Sakuya-san…what will she think now?'

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((That's it for this chapter. Review!))


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They had no idea why they had decided to just walk into a portal that panda plush conjured. It could have killed them, sent them to another dimension, or something even worse. But, despite all of their suspicions and doubts, they went in anyway. Right now, all of them felt as if they were falling…and they were. They were in the perpetual night sky of their world, and they would get there in only a matter of moments. That also meant that they would have a crash landing.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?" Marluxia screamed as he flailed his arms around frantically. With nothing to grab a hold of, he clamped his arm onto Larxene's, much to her chagrin. A small surprise for everyone, what with Marluxia usually being so flamboyant all the time.

"Stop bitching like Demyx and calm down for a second!" Axel snapped. "If you're scared of this now, just wait until we have the other members come after us! Chances are, you'll die!"

"Looks like we aren't going to get out of this one as a group." Larxene shouted as she suddenly felt astounding pressure squeeze her limbs. In addition she saw Marluxia's face contract slightly as the pressure also forced Marluxia off of her. "We're going to split up. Our best bet is to try and find our way back to each other."

"Damn. This will totally—!" Axel was about to say, "suck like hell!" but was cut off as each of them crash landed into different areas of the world.

Upon landing, Marluxia rubbed his neck and hissed at the pain. "Though that was a little painful, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Looking around, he saw that he was the only person there. Shrugging it off, he stretched his arms out and tried to get his muscles pumped up before a battle, which was very likely. "Larxene said to meet back up with everyone, so I guess I'll just find my way through the castle."

"Going somewhere?" A voice asked. The figure stepped out of a newly made portal and took off his hood. Marluxia chuckled a little bit to indirectly express his irritation to find out who his opponent was. "It looks like you've come back. But where are the others?"

"Oh! They all crashed landed, just like I did!" Marluxia raised his arms up and jumped up and down several times before stopping and going back to his welcoming committee. "…Except they all landed in different spots." Marluxia scratched his head. "You know, not that left is here with my group. Unfortunately, due to some obvious circumstances, we were forced to actually leave someone behind. Seeing as you're a senior, you should know who that person is."

"That's quite obvious."

"Yes, yes, yes. But you never really decide to say the things that seem pointless, do you?" Marluxia made another grin, and at the same time, conjured up his pink scythe. He stuck it into the ground and leaned against it. "Are we going to start this battle, or what?"

"I thought…" The man began as he brought out his rather large weapon. "…that you would never ask.

"Rip off more lines, will you?" Marluxia sighed. "But I guess I should let this slide seeing as you're so quiet, and not to mention…not very attractive at first sight."

"What did that last one have to do with anything?" Growling a bit, he readied a fighting pose and held the determined look in his face.

"Just wanted to point it out!" Marluxia took his scythe out of the floor and took on a fighting pose. While flower petals appeared from the air around him, Marluxia still continued smiling. "Let's start this up then!"

* * *

Ienzo woke up, to find Mr. Dan-Dan in front of his face. Instead of screaming out, Ienzo closed his eyes. What if he comes too late for Yukina to realize that he let down his own end of the promise? Mr. Dan-Dan, noticing that Ienzo was still on the ground, sat on Ienzo's torso. Ienzo was still lying on the ground. Mr. Dan-Dan got off Ienzo as a shadow appeared over him.

"It looks like someone missed the train." Lulu spoke out. Ienzo opened his eyes to find Lulu bent down and looking down at him. "You shouldn't feel bad if they left you behind. Without any fighting ability whatsoever, you would only be a hindrance." Ienzo sighed and sat up, prompting Lulu to stand normally. "They all have unique powers, and would easily overpower you. So they would normally have to let go of dead weight." Ienzo growled in annoyance and proceeded to walk inside. "I take it that you're giving up." Lulu followed him inside.

"You just repeated why I shouldn't go with them." Ienzo knew that it would probably be better if he really did stay here, at the hotel. But that one promise he made to Yukina changed practically everything. It was just one promise. He could stand breaking just one promise. But deep down, Ienzo knew that it would practically break her on the inside. Ienzo—as well as the others—knew that even though Yukina was constantly smiling, she was more fragile than what she appeared to be. "This is so stupid. Even if I know that I can't go with them, why do I still have the strong feeling to just beat another portal out of that panda plush so I can go to Sakuya-san?"

"She's your friend isn't she?" Ienzo was surprised at the fact that he just spoke his own thoughts out loud. Lulu—though not always making her presence known, always saw the fun they all had when they were together. Ienzo may not look it, but he was having fun as long as Yukina was around as well. "It's amazing."

"What is?" Ienzo asked in response to Lulu's statement. Lulu was a very knowledgeable person—seemingly in all fields—but this didn't stop Ienzo from secretly asking himself, '_Why does she seem to know so much about this particular situation_?'

"How far anyone would go for a friend." Ienzo knew that friends would always be important to anyone, but in what way did this amaze Lulu? "Back where I came from, there was usually something to be afraid of. Our world was ruled by fears, despair, and darkness. All of it was just one spiral of death. And yet, that one boy, risked everything to save the one person that he revered so much as a friend."

Struggling to put the pieces together, Ienzo blushed as asked Lulu to confirm his suspicions. "So…are you trying to compare that situation to me?"

"Of course." With this cryptic, and—at the same time—painfully obvious statement, Ienzo slowly looked down and closed his eyes. Yukina was important to him, just like everybody else was. Emphasizing even more on his thoughts, Ienzo was starting to roam around areas he thought his heart would never go. The more he thought about it, the more he seemed to noticed just how much Yukina was important to him. "If you're actually thinking about going…I'm not letting you."

"What!?" Ienzo shouted with disbelief clearly in his eyes. "But…why!?"

"There are a few things you need to learn before we can let you go." Lulu wagged her finger at Ienzo, and tapped him several times on the forehead before Ienzo swatted her hand away.

"It's not like we can discuss this in a classroom. I need to go!" An irritated Ienzo marched out the door, only to have an increasing pain in his right arm. When he looked up, he saw a large spot of ash on the ground just outside. "What…what did you—?" He winced before he could finish, tightening his grip around the new burn that wasn't getting any better. He looked back to Lulu again, to find another doll that was in Lulu's arms. It looked like a black cat doll with a white stomach, a red scarf similar to that of Mr. Dan-Dan's, a yellow crown perched on top of its head, and a perpetual smile stitched onto its face.

"It's a doll. You've never seen one before?" Lulu let it drop from her arms and land on the floor. When it hit the ground, it stuck the landing and made a fighting pose. The Cait Sith now had Ienzo's undivided attention, with the latter turning around all the way to face the two. "Before we can let you leave, there is one thing you need to know…"

"What would that be?" Ienzo asked cautiously. He tried his best not to set her off, because there seemed to many more things that this woman was capable of. Lulu wasn't one for saying many words, and she usually had an unpleasant air around her. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover,' is a phrase that Ienzo wasn't sure of applying for this person.

"Let's discuss this over a passive game of chess." Lulu walked over to a nearby table, which conveniently held a chessboard that was complete with chess pieces that were shaped like fluffy rabbits. Ienzo remembered that it was a chess set that Yukina bought for the two of them on a rainy day. "Should you win this game, I'll let you join up with the others. And I think that you would know what happens if you lose."

* * *

"What…the…hell!?" Larxene said, huffing between every sentence. Her opponent was apparently too much for her to handle at this point. She was a skilled, that much is true, but this was a battle that was going badly for her. She was currently struggling to get up and she tried her best to not show the pain in her expression.

"You seem to be getting a little slow, you know?" Asked an annoying voice that Larxene didn't want to hear. Relaxing a bit, he twirled his weapons around a few times. "You may be fast, but not fast enough to hit me."

"Shut up!" Larxene threw another one of her knives at him, only for it to be blocked by another bullet. "Why can't you let me through!? I just want to rescue Yuki!" Larxene threw three more knives, but instead of the knife being blocked again, several portals appeared and swallowed the projectiles instantly. "Dammit!" She yelled out. The knives reappeared and dealt even more damage to her.

"You could just give up and you wouldn't have to fight me anymore. I'm a senior. I don't think you could put up with—"

"Why the hell won't you frickin' shut up!? You're so goddamn annoying, Xigbar!" Larxene shouted once more. She coupled this with throwing more knives at him, only for him to sigh and warp out of harm's way. "Why are you even doing this!?"

"Because I was told to. Just because I'm a senior doesn't mean that I have a say in what this Organization should do." Xigbar lowered his guns, to continue his explanation to a confused Larxene. "If I was able to rescue Yuki, I would."

"Then why haven't you made an effort yet!?" Larxene shouted in frustration at the gunner. "We've defied Xemnas, and we've practically left the Organization! Why couldn't you do that!?"

"Should I actually try to defy Xemnas, I would actually be…" Larxene was starting to understand what Xigbar was telling her. There was more to the inner workings of the Organization that even a member wouldn't know about. She feared how the rest of the sentence would finish. Unfortunately, she was right. "Should I have defied Xemnas like that, I would be killed right off the bat. Xemnas would have no qualms killing anyone, not even an older member like me. The only time there was an exception was that of _those two_."

To Larxene's surprise, Xigbar warped right in front of her and now pointed his gun in the middle of her face.

"I might usually be the annoying prick that you know, but I have my own rules to follow. It's either my skin or yours, and being the selfish guy that I am, I'd rather kill you. Goodbye."

Before Xigbar was able to pull the trigger, however, Larxene's cellphone starting ringing in her pocket. While Xigbar was confused, Larxene pulled off a well-aimed split kick towards his face, and knocked him into the air. Angrily, Larxene pulled out her cellphone and flipped it open.

"What the hell are trying to do!? I was in the middle of a battle! Are you trying to get me killed!?" Larxene shouted into the phone, not giving any regard to the caller. As the caller responded, Larxene's eyes widened. "What the—hold that thought!" In an amazing display of dynamics, she threw the phone up, dodged a series of bullets, jumped into the air with two flips and caught the phone all in midair. "Keep pestering me like this and I'll fill up your inbox with hate mail!"

"Would you hang up and call the person back later!?" Xigbar aimed another few rounds of bullets at Larxene.

"If you actually kill me here then I won't be able to call him back now would I!?" Larxene dashed past the bullets and threw several knives at Xigbar. "Don't say that you're bored!" Larxene shouted at the caller. "Stop trying to get me killed! Go call someone else!"

* * *

Ienzo was having a hard time trying to beat Lulu in a game of chess, which was evident by his unsubtle growling. They both had turns taking out their chess pieces in succession, which resulted in mixed reactions from both players. Despite this fact, Ienzo only had his king left, and Lulu had caught him in a check. Unless he did something soon, he would lose, and he would also not be able to catch up with the others. Yukina would be crushed by this, and would probably never want to see him again. Ienzo didn't want that to happen. He couldn't let that happen.

"There are still a few things you need to realize." Lulu pestered. "Not everything in life would rely on skills." Lulu poked Ienzo several times on the forehead before he swatted her hand away.

"What more do I need to focus on?" Ienzo growled angrily. He realized that in one more move, his king would be captured and he wouldn't be able to move forward. Then he thought that he should just let it all go. "I give up."

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that last bit." Lulu requested. She had a slight smile forming on her lips that Ienzo couldn't see due to his head being buried by his hands out of shame.

"I. Give. Up." He repeated once again. "I get that I won't be able to beat you, and that the others would probably be better off without me." He didn't bother looking up, which caused Lulu to make an outward grin instead of her usual scowl. "If you want me to emphasize why I wanted to go anyway, it's just that…" Ienzo began to cry as a result of his current thoughts, which surprised Lulu. "…It's just…so damn lonely."

"Why?" Lulu asked him. "Why is it that you're feeling lonely? Is it because you might have an inferiority complex? Do you want to be noticed in some way?" Lulu poked around the possibilities of how an introverted person would actually act this way. Was it because he was an introvert that he was making a fuss about all of this? Of course it was prying, but the truth would have to come out sooner or later, with Lulu deciding upon 'sooner'.

"I'm feeling lonely because…" Ienzo kept his head facing the floor and had tears fall from his face. "…It's because…Sakuya-san…" He wiped his face with his sleeve and did his best to not make it seem he wanted to keep denying that fact. "…Yukina was the one that noticed."

Lulu smiled, but this one was one filled with content of the answer she heard, instead of one filled with coyness. Ienzo continued. "Everywhere I went there was a feeling of emptiness that kept eating away at me. The way that Yukina was usually with me…whenever she was with me, it would seem as if that pain was never there in the first place. She would notice that pain, and do her best to make it go away. As long as she was around, I wouldn't feel lonely anymore. Yukina is…an important person in my life. But now…I can't even do so much as win a simple chess game."

"How did that last sentence tie into everything?" Lulu stayed smiling, but silently thought how easy it was to make someone empty everything in his mind through emotional landslides.

"I want to move on. I want to make Yukina notice me again." Ienzo lowered his head even further, and went on. "But…if I can't even fight, Yukina probably won't even acknowledge me. I would have to get the others to get me to her." He sighs and finally opens his eyes. "I'm so weak…"

Lulu put her hand on Ienzo's head and did her best to mess it up. After wiping away his tears, Ienzo heard a sharp sound in front of him. He saw that Lulu had toppled over her own king piece. Confused as ever, Ienzo looked up. "Lulu-sama…why did you—?"

"I told you that there were things you needed to learn." Ienzo finally saw Lulu smile, but after that he looked away, which prompted Lulu to shrug. "Now, you understand that you can't save Yuki-chan on your own, and that Yuki-chan is an important person to you, correct?" Reluctantly, Ienzo nodded. "Ienzo-bozu, you don't need to worry whether or not Yuki-chan will acknowledge you just because you can't fight…being the scrawny kid that you are."

"What the hell—!?" He received a finger on his forehead in return for his interruption.

"If Yuki-chan is important to you, then of course she'll acknowledge you. Yuki-chan is the person who would extend her warmth to everyone. Be it a friend or a complete stranger." Ienzo's eyes widened as he felt himself fall back. At the corner of his eye, he saw that he was falling into a portal. "With that out of the way, be sure to keep your promise, Ienzo-bozu!"

"Wait a—WHAT THE HELL!?" He shouted as he continued falling. Afterwards, Mr. Dan-Dan hopped through the portal and closed it right after

* * *

Axel walked through the empty hallways with his hands at his head. He whistled a couple of tunes before he got tired of that and continued a silent march onward. "Jeez, I haven't run into anyone else in a while, and considering that Xemnas practically made a maze out of the castle in just one week, I probably might not find anyone any time soon…" Realizing his hopelessness, he made a big sigh and lowered his head.

As Axel continued forward his eyes suddenly widened as he heard a faint sound that resembled a laugh. "Finally! Someone to challenge!" He ran forward and went on like that until he was left at a dead end inside a large room. He looked back as he heard a barrier form from the large doorway behind him. Taking out his weapons, he had a grin that could almost be confused for bloodlust. "I've been bored for almost a month now! Show yourself so I can finally have some fun!"

"Well, you haven't really changed a bit." Came an all too familiar voice from behind him. And it wasn't just meters behind him, it was mere _inches_ behind him so that he speaking right next to Axel's ear. "I have a question…would you spare me forgiveness?"

"What the…"Axel threw his weapon back, prompting his opponent to leap back. "…HELL!? I always knew that you were crazy, hell we all are, but…that was just plain ridiculous!" Axel pointed his weapon at the former, and held an irritated face. "Tell me, why did you do that?"

"I'm guessing you're still upset…" He stared at the floor and looked up to find Axel running straight at him with his weapon in hand. He jumped away before the weapon could come in contact with him and sighed. "I'm guessing you would still hate me even after I explain why I did it."

"Demyx…" Axel growled. "I don't hate you…" The said musician looked back to his attacker, but quickly brought out his weapon after seeing through his words. "…You're just an idiot! A really weak one!" Axel threw a well-aimed flaming projectile at Demyx, with Demyx putting up a water-composed shield in defense.

"I…I…" Demyx suddenly clenched his fist in a free hand and suddenly had a look of both anguish and rage upon his face. " I AM NOT WEAK!!"

With his sitar, Demyx strummed through the strings very quickly and relayed over them at a faster pace. To Axel's surprise, Demyx had summoned enough water to actually flood the entire room. Demyx had actually enclosed the entire space so as to not let any water escape, so Axel was pushed up against the wall with the immense force of the water rushing at him. Demyx stopped playing for a few moments to stop the water from drowning Axel. '_I'm not weak. I'm not weak. Axel is the one who's weak. Axel should've thought about his words before actually saying them out loud. As a repercussion, he's the one who who's going to suffer._'

"Why…" Axel choked out before coughing once more. "Why the hell…did you kidnap Yuki?" Despite Axel being completely in Demyx's mercy, he showed determination in his eyes. "Answer me or…I'LL KILL YOU!!"

"Why?" Demyx repeated. Demyx closed his eyes and tried to think about his answer. His face slightly contracted when he had his definite answer. Instead of actually saying it, he bluntly replied, "We're in the middle of a battle! Now isn't the time to talk!"

With his nimble hands, he ghosted over the strings of his sitar and made the water rush back to the room. Axel knew that he had to figure out something soon, but what could he do with the elemental disadvantage he had? '_This really SUCKS! How the hell do I win against this brat!? More importantly, how do I get through this without dying!?_' As he was trying to find a solution, he ran across the walls, trying to attack Demyx from his higher placement, but not succeeding with the water around them constantly protecting Demyx from any harm.

'I'm probably an idiot from taking this risk but…' Axel took a "leap of faith" and jumped into the air so that he was right on top of Demyx. Noticing that water suddenly rose from the floor and came at him from all directions, he smirked and tested out his theory.

Demyx smirked as the water engulfed him, but that quickly changed when Axel burst through the walls with his chakrams aimed right for Demyx. Quickly evaporating the water that was chasing him with continuous flame bursts, he ran across the room, and closed in on Demyx. Said nobody frantically summoned a plume of water from the ground, but Axel was quick enough to see it coming. Without the slightest effort, he dodged and sliced through the target with one hundred percent accuracy.

* * *

Larxene blocked the bullets with her knives as they dashed madly throughout the hall. Roxas still hadn't received a fight from anyone, so he continually assaulted Larxene with random questions and tidbits of useless knowledge while the latter was still fighting.

"_Larxene, have you ever tried mochi? It's delicious and convenient. It's ice cream that you can hold in your hand. Maybe they should come up with a sea-salty flavor._" Roxas went on.

"I don't care about ice cream!" Larxene shouted. "Stop calling me! You're wasting my phone's battery!"

"_Don't care about ice cream!? That's just the same as not caring about food!_"

"I don't care about what you think about mochi! Goodbye!" Larxene hang up the phone, and much to her annoyance, she received yet another call. Finally catching an idea to end the fight, she hurled her phone straight at Xigbar. "That call's for YOU!!"

"So you resorted to using your phone as a weapon? Talk about weak!" Xigbar shot through the phone, and after that, he couldn't spot Larxene in sight. "Where the hell are you now…" As he saw a shadow from where he was standing, he looked up, and there she was.

"Thanks…" Larxene smirked as she sent a bolt of lightning straight down at the gunner. "…for finally SHUTTING HIM UP!!"

When the smoke of the small explosion dissipated, she saw Xigbar lying on the floor, defeated. Luckily, he wasn't exactly fading, so of course he wasn't dead. Larxene walked over and stared down at him.

"I have high heels and I'm not afraid to use 'em!" She shouted. "Can you tell me…WHERE THE HELL YUKI IS!?"

* * *

He drifted through darkness, and didn't know what to say about it. It all felt so new to him, and yet it was also familiar. Ienzo remembered how Axel had told him that he used to be one of them. Still, it felt as if there was something weighing down his heart. Was it the darkness trying to envelop his heart? Or was it something else? Whatever the case, he wanted someone with him. 'Maybe I'm just lonely.' He thought of Yukina and how she would tell him that things would be okay. Would it all be okay? Ienzo's wandering through the darkness was brought to an abrupt end when he felt his back meet with something solid.

"Now where am I?" Ienzo asked himself as he finally opened his eyes. The dark atmosphere was all soaked into his eyes. 'It's hardly any different. It's almost as if the darkness itself took a solid form.' He looked around for a few moments and saw that no one else was around, not even the panda. '_Now I feel_ really _lonely_.'

He came across more of the city, with each area making him feel more nostalgic at every turn. He was almost depressed at the thought of never actually retrieving those memories ever again. Ienzo dug his hands deep into his pockets and continued walking. 'If I was able to, I would remember all those memories and discover more about myself. Any memory would do, but…I just want to know more about my past.'

Looking up into the night sky, Ienzo spotted a heart-shaped moon, which was in perfect view of a pure white—almost immaculate—castle that seemed as if it was floating in the air. Surprisingly, he was able to identify each of the "scents" within the castle. All except for one. The smell was almost pleasant, except that it had a bad "aftertaste" to it. He knew right away that this was Yukina. Without any further delay, he ran as fast as he could.

* * *

Demyx was surprised at how Axel could shield himself from all of his attacks by quickly evaporating the water. He was even more surprised that while Axel was in a perfect position to kill him, Axel simply cut the strings of his sitar instead. '_After acting so high and mighty, I can't stand it. I can't stand losing! Why did this happen? All I wanted was to protect her_!' Demyx started crying in response.

"Stop acting like an immature little brat!" Axel picked Demyx up by his collar and shoved him up against the wall. "Why the hell did you kidnap Yuki!?"

In response, Demyx started crying, and finally choked out, "I…I did it to save her!!"

"What…the hell?" He loosened his grip on Demyx, and then Demyx slowly slid down to the floor.

"Xemnas…Xemnas said that…" Demyx started sadly. "Xemnas would kill Yuki if I didn't kidnap her." Demyx looked up at Axel and their eyes met, with Axel being somewhat startled at his expression. "I don't want her to disappear from us! That's why I kidnapped her! It was the only way that I could help her!" After looking away he continued. "Axel, please…please…help her. Please help Yuki. Help them both out."

* * *

Ienzo looked through the different rooms scattered about. He checked through each of the cells, and found that no one was there. He was almost about to deem it hopeless to continue, but then he found a corner and found one last cell. The cell had bars in front of it and no visible means of entry, just like the rest of the other cells. However, this cell had its bars placed in the middle of the wall and Ienzo couldn't see past those bars. It was pitch black inside.

"Sa…Sakuya-san?" Ienzo said out loud. He heard no answer. "Sakuya-san…are you there?" Once again, there was no answer. He noticed that the source of that one particular scent was in the cell and was refusing to talk to him.

Slowly, Ienzo walked up and sat down. "Sakuya-san, I'm so sorry that I was unaware of your pain. I was…being selfish and only focused on my own feelings. I never bothered to consider what you were feeling at the time." Ienzo still couldn't hear anything within the room, but instead of stopping, he continued and began to shed tears. "I'm sorry…for being such an idiot. You were always being helpful to me, and I never bothered to thank you. There are so many things I'm sorry for. I…I didn't want you to forgive me. All I want right now, is that you would listen to my apology."

After wiping up his tears, he stood up and was about to walk away. But then he felt something. He looked back and saw that there were pale, bruised hands that slipped through the bars and were weakly holding his own. He finally saw Yukina's face come to light and to his horror, her face was just as bruised as her arms. Despite these injuries, she was smiling. Her face was shown to be smiling and even with all the bruises, she still seemed as if nothing had changed. "I-Ienzo-kun…" Yukina said very weakly. "You…kept your…promise."

Ienzo had tried to keep in his tears after his previous bursts, but now he could keep it in no longer. "Sakuya-san…even after all of this…you can still smile?" He fell to his knees and cried even harder, but then his face received a gentle caress from one of Yukina's still-weak hands.

"Please don't cry over me." She said a little more confident this time. "After we get out of here, we can talk, okay?"

* * *

"Fools. If they think that they can outsmart me, then they are poorly mistaken. They shall truly pay the price for their insolence."

* * *

The ground suddenly began to shake as small, bug-like creatures began to form from the ground. One by one, each of the fights that were ensuing had come to an abrupt stop. Each of the members had begun fighting off this threat, but for every Heartless that was defeated more popped up in its place.

"Damn. To think that Xemnas would actually pull off a crazy stunt like this…" Saix growled. Saix was starting to get tired after a few waves of Heartless came his way, and things weren't starting to look good.

Out of nowhere, new portals popped up in the middle of whatever room each of the members were in. Taking it as a stroke of luck, they all took the portals to their destinations and hoped for the best.

Meanwhile, for Ienzo and Yukina, two portals appeared. One for Ienzo and one for Yukina. They both looked to the portals with distress as they realized that they couldn't go with each other.

"This…can't be possible!" Ienzo shouted. "I just got time with you and now we have to separate again!" Ienzo clenched Yukina's hands tightly within his own, as if he was never going to let go. "When…will I see you again?"

"Don't worry Ienzo-kun…" Yukina gently placed her hand behind Ienzo's head and in the same manner, pushed it forward so that Yukina was able to kiss Ienzo's forehead. "We will meet again soon."

Before Ienzo was able to react, he was pulled back into the portal that was meant for him and disappeared into the void. Yukina smiled as the portal closed. She noticed that in Ienzo's place, there was a small panda doll. "Mr. Dan-Dan, did you plan all this out?" She asked the panda doll as it jumped into her hands. In response to her question, the panda shook its head. "Of course you didn't." Looking back to the portal set for her. She took a deep breath and stepped into it.

* * *

((I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SUCH A LONG TIME!!!! A whole bunch of…stuff came up and I was busy with it! I hope you can find it in your hearts to actually forgive me! It's been over a month since I last updated. *sighs* What's more is that this chapter ends at a horrible pace. I hope you can forgive me for that too. Okay, bear with me and I hope to see you faithful readers at the next chapter! Please! Forgive me!))


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ienzo felt the hard rough ground on his cheek. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was back in front of the hotel. He hands formed into fists as his eyes filled with sadness. The others were just as confused as he was when they were all waking up on the floor of the hotel. The first things they heard were Ienzo's cries of frustration.

"She was there! I couldn't do anything!" Ienzo cried out. As a result, he started punching the ground as a result. "She was right there!" Ienzo repeated over and over. The others watched as he continued his assault on the sidewalk. With each punch delivered, his hands hurt more and more, but he didn't care at this point.

"Someone talk some sense into him before he breaks his hands…" Larxene sighed as she was looking away. To her, the sight was simply saddening. She sat down on a chair as she eyed the others. The room stayed silent. "Oh come on! It's not much to actually knock some sense into him."

"But the way you always put it, you _literally_ knock something into him. And it's usually bruises and concussions rather than actual _sense_. So of course, you're not suitable for the job." Vexen responded.

"Oh shut up you old man! Like you could do any—better…" Larxene stopped hissing at Vexen for a second to emphasize on something. While the others wondered what was wrong, she finally looked back to Ienzo when she didn't hear him shouting anymore. "Oh geez…wrong person…"

"She was right there…" Ienzo repeated one last time before he received a hand on his shoulder. He glared back at the one person he didn't want to see.

"I'm sorry that I did it, but—" Demyx received a punch in the face as a result of his effort. He fell back and landed on the ground. Demyx wiped his face to feel a bruise, and blood. 'But…I didn't cough up…anything. Is this…?' Demyx's eyes glanced down from Ienzo's eyes to his hands. His hands were bleeding, but Ienzo didn't seem like it hurt him. "Ienzo, I know what I did was wrong…but I couldn't have saved—"

"Don't you _dare_ say her name!" Ienzo shouted. Instead of continuing his assault on the ground, Ienzo kicked Demyx in the stomach while the latter was still down.

Demyx coughed up blood, but tried his best to cover it up. '_I deserve it._' Demyx thought. He awaited another kick, but then he saw Ienzo being held back by Vexen.

"Let me go! Let me go, dammit!" Ienzo shouted angrily as he pulled his arms away. "I said let me go!"

Ienzo struggled as he tried his best to break free. Ienzo kicked and shouted, and didn't give any thought to what the others were thinking about him. He just wanted to make sure that he'd never see Demyx again. The more he thought about how infuriated he was at Demyx, the more he started feeling pains of regret in his heart. Why was he feeling this way? Who would he go to for answers?

"_Don't worry about it, Ienzo-kun!_"

Tears were brought to his eyes as he remembered her with the memories embedded within his mind. As soon as Vexen heard Ienzo's rapid breathing while the latter cried, he let g of one of Ienzo's arms, leaving it to dangle at his side. Ienzo dropped to his knees and cried as soon as Vexen released his other arm. Why did Demyx have to kidnap her? Why was she suffering? Why was this happening only to him?

"Why…?"

* * *

She woke up, with the sound of waves and birds' callings in her ears. She sat up and saw a bright sun, a small island, and a clear blue ocean in front of her. '_I've never been to a beach before. How'd I end up here? Either way it's…relaxing._' The water receded and came back again, so that it was almost as if the bruises were lifted right off her skin with each small wave.

She looked around for a few more moments to take in more of the peaceful surroundings within her mind. She also noticed a dock as well as a few wooden bridges and a small shack. '_This place is beautiful. I've only seen settings like this in paintings. Whoever lives here must be very lucky._' The only thing that bothered her, was her own small stench. '_That's right. I've never been able to take a shower or bath for a week…_' She quickly noticed a waterfall and a small pool where it all accumulated. 'Considering that there's only me here…I might as well take my chance and use it quickly.'

Cautiously, Yukina took off her clothes and hid them underneath a few bushes. She dipped her feet into the water and found it warm. '_It's nearing winter, and considering that this is a tropical place, it must be warm here all year round_.' She stepped into the water and found it chest-high. Afterwards she slipped her head underneath the water and sat down at the bottom of the pool while holding her breath. '_I have no idea where I am and yet I feel as if I have something to do here. But the others are waiting for me, back home in Japan. After I figure out what to do, I'll try to find a way back._'

* * *

He hopped off of his boat and smiled at the sun while he shielded his eyes from the blinding light. He tied his boat to the dock to make sure that it wouldn't drift off. He hopped onto the dock and glanced through the island while he took a sigh of contentment. "I haven't seen this place in some time and now I finally have some time for myself. It'll be another few hours before the others arrive." He scratched his head and sighed once again. "Maybe I'm just a bit _too_ early."

He decided to walk over to the small islet that housed the tree that he always used as a place for his own time. Just like before. He walked along the beach and breathed in an ocean breeze. "I'm glad this place never changed while I was gone. And to think that this permanence is what got me to leave…" He saw something flash out of the corner of his eye and turned his head.

Due to the shadow that the trees provided, the most prominent feature of the shaded figure was that of pure—and at the same time, striking—white hair that sent water droplets out in all directions. He examined the shape of the figure closely, and was flustered to realize that it was a girl…who was bathing. The girl went back into the water as soon as she had taken her breath. Swallowing his fears—along with his dignity—he decided to walk up to the waterfall.

* * *

"Ienzo, look, I'm—"

"Just…get away from me…" Ienzo said sadly. "I…want to be alone."

Ienzo stayed motionless on the ground for a long time. It was almost as if he was a statue, or even…dead. Each of the members wanted to leave the bleak and gloomy atmosphere that Ienzo had conjured. After about half an hour or so, Ienzo got up and walked down the sidewalk instead of going to his room. He didn't bother paying attention to the girls that were squealing with delight at his appearance. He just walked past everything. '_Maybe I was a little hard on Demyx. And on the text message he sent to everyone else, he said he was sorry. Now he's apologizing again. I better go back and_—'

"Look, I'm sorry already!"

Ienzo heard this plea and expected to find Demyx behind him, but instead saw a couple arguing. One was girl with brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail by a pink ribbon. The other one was a young man with black spiky hair that seemed to point strait up and a scar on his left cheek. The young man sought repentance from his girlfriend, who wasn't apparently giving any.

"You disappear for four years and you just expect me to accept your apology? I don't think so." She seemed…happy for some reason, but her voice was filled with coyness. "Listen, I have another guy now. And while he's less enthusiastic than you, he doesn't go off and disappear. Plus, there's the matter of all my missed calls and my unreturned letters."

"Calling you back would be expensive from where I was and the guys told me that it was because of a failed postman's job that I wasn't able to receive your letters!" The young man then went on his knees and held his hands together. "C'mon Aerith-chan! You have to understand!"

"Zack-baka, I am_ not_ accepting your apology." Aerith turned her back on Zack and walked off past Ienzo, who was still observing Zack as he began to writhe in anguish. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do with a friend."

"But…it isn't my fault!" Zack shouted as he got backup. Aerith ignored his outburst as she continued walking. Zack kicked a nearby sign as he sighed. Afterwards, he looked back up and saw Ienzo, who was surprised to see Zack noticing him. "Hey…I remember you!"

"Y-You do!?" Ienzo slowly and cautiously took two steps back. "F-From where!?"

"You're the emo-looking kid that everyone was taking pictures with!" Zack pointed at said Ienzo. "If I had come up with that idea, I'd be rolling in yen by now!"

Ienzo now remembered what Zack was talking about. It was during Yukina's first days of high school. A good number of people wanted to take pictures with him due to his good looks, and he took advantage of their wants by making them pay up. '_Looking back on it now, I think I was being a little over the top on the pricing_…'

"I don't think you can possibly understand the situation I'm in right now!" Zack shouted. "My girlfriend's mad at me, and now my best friend is dating her instead! Well it doesn't seem like the guy knows that he's dating her, but whatever happens, I want Aerith-chan to be happy!"

"Well…" Ienzo started. Zack's eyes started to widen with hope, but ended with: "I can't help you there, so good luck." Ienzo started to walk in the direction of the hotel before he got involved in this. Unfortunately, he got involved when Zack took notice of him, and it was too late to back out of this.

Zack turned Ienzo around and started shaking Ienzo back and forth. "But you have to help me out here! Surely you must've started some sort of relationship with someone by now! I need all the help I can get!"

"Relationships…?" Ienzo pondered his mind for anything of the sort. Then he blushed at the thought of the white-haired maiden. "I…um…have someone that I care for a lot—"

"That's good enough for me!" Zack took Ienzo by his arm and—with amazing strength—was able to lift Ienzo up into the air and drag him along without him touching the ground. "Listen, we're going to be looking at what they're buying so I can actually get her something she likes so she'll forget her anger and love me again!"

"That's a half-baked plan." Ienzo said as he was being dragged along. "Chances are, it isn't going to work. "Also, if she is your girlfriend, you would respect her privacy and give her a few days to cool it off."

"I'm not the kind of person who waits for something to happen!" Zack yelled back.

'_This is going to be a very long day_…'

* * *

'_Should I? Or should I not?_' He thought to himself as he hid behind a tree. '_I'm not a pervert. I just want to ask what a stranger is doing on our island. But she's bathing! I can't just walk up to her and ask her to leave stark naked! This is worse than battling heartless_…'

He carefully looked around the tree to see the girl again. Her long white hair was covering up her back as she continued standing in the waterfall. When she looked around, she spotted something moving and turned around to face the waterfall. "Is anyone there?"

'_Crap!_' He thought. '_She saw me! What's she going to do now!? What will the others think!?_' He took a breath and calmed down. '_I might as well…_' He walked out from behind the tree and tried his best not to hyperventilate as he had continuous thoughts of him seeing a girl naked. "I…I was wondering why you were here on this island. This island is actually a private one reserved for me and my friends."

"Oh. I see, then." Yukina calmly replied. "I'm sorry to trespass, so as soon as I get my clothes, I'll leave and be out of the premises." Yukina then turned her head to face him. "I'll have to kindly ask you to look away while I put on my clothes."

"Oh…um…sure." He turned around and sat down while he stared at the ocean. '_I never thought that I'd find another person with white hair. The difference is that I'm…blunt, and she seems well mannered. Maybe she's just new and was looking for a place to start. Either way, she might as well make the most of her time here_.' "If you want, you can stay for a while. One day won't hurt, and try to speak as you normally would."

"Speak as I normally would?" She asked as she pulled a shirt over her head.

"Yeah. You don't have to be polite. But you might as well speak formally if you're comfortable with it." He heard footsteps as he saw a seagull fly overhead. "I take it that you're done."

"I am." She walked up to him and sat right next to him. "Oh, I forgot! What's your name? It would be pretty odd to refer to ourselves by something other than our names." She pulled her legs together and rested her head on her knees and stared out into the blue sky.

"Oh, my name…Riku." He looked back to her as soon as he finished.

"Your name," She stated. "Means 'earth' in my original language. Would any of your friends' names be 'Sora?'"

"Yes. How'd you know?" Riku asked. He was puzzled.

"While your name means 'earth', Sora would mean 'sky'. And from what I've been told, opposites usually attract to each other, and they come in the form of close friends."

To Riku, her answer was one that would belong to that of a foreigner who was from very far away. Everyone on the islands spoke the same language, and he hadn't heard of such a language. "Before you tell me your name, can you answer something?"

"Of course." She said calmly. "What do you want to ask me?"

"Are you…from another world?" Riku asked. 'I've been taught to not meddle with people not from my own world. That would eventually cause discord and uneasiness, but…I'm just curious to see where this girl comes from.'

"From another world?" She questioned. "I've studied about different places, but I've never seen a place like this. So, does that answer your question to an extent?"

"Somewhat…" Riku replied. "How about this? Can you tell me where you came from?"

"Okay." Riku anticipated the answer, but he was answered with: "When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, they end up making a kid and start up a family."

"That's…not quite the answer I was looking for." Riku sighed. "I mean which place did you come from?"

"Oh." She laughed for a few moments as she emphasized her mistake. "I'm sorry for that little tidbit. I tend to not use common sense very often. If you want to know, I hail from an island nation of the rising sun."

"Hmm…I've never heard of that place." Riku mused. "That proves that you're from another world."

* * *

"May I ask why you were spying on us?" Aerith asked with annoyance in her voice.

"We weren't spying!" Zack waved his arms around in defense. "I was just conveniently looking in your direction while I was conveniently going to the same shops as you guys!"

"Half-baked…" Ienzo commented. He received a whack on the head in return.

"Shut it, emo-kid!" Zack shouted. "Aerith, Tifa, I apologize for my friend's idiotic behavior!"

"Like we're supposed to believe the 'half-baked' lie you just gave us…" Tifa replied while holding up a fist in Zack's face. "I'm a ninth degree black belt! You may be a master in kendo, but my fists can knock out every lie that your mouth has to tell."

"H-Help back here…" Asked a voice that was slowly coming behind the group. His face was covered up by a towering number of bags and boxes that threatened to topple over with each step he took. Luckily, he was able to maintain the balance. "Tifa, Zack's my friend and so are you. Try your best not to injure him in any way."

"Okay." Tifa dropped her fist and grabbed a few bags from the top of the voice's pile. "Does that help?"

"Not by much…" He replied. The few bags that were subtracted from the stack revealed his face. He seemed the same age as Zack and had a style of spiky hair that seemed more believable and natural than Zack's. His blond hair resembled that of another blond: Roxas. Ienzo was about to shout his name out, but remembered that they weren't the same due to their voices. "Oh. So you have a new friend, Zack. Sorry for the questionable introduction. I'm Cloud—"

"Hey, Tifa, remember that time when I had to make cloud crossdress to save you from that yakuza gang?" Aerith giggled. "And you looked so cute in that dress…"

"I thought I told you to not tell that to anyone…" Cloud sighed. "It was only one time and it's something I don't want to repeat—"

"Cloud, why are you dating Aerith now!" Zack asked. "You are a traitor to our friendship!"

"I was bored, so I agreed to help carry their stuff…" Cloud said as he shrugged.

"And I didn't know that you crossdressed! Aerith, emphasize!" Zack pleaded.

"Now that you're asking me, I don't want to do it anymore." Aerith smiled as she said this saddening sentence. "Hey, Tifa I know this great café down the street, and it passes by this small hotel."

"Small hotel? I've never seen a hotel when I walk down this street. What are you talking about Aerith?" Tifa asked.

"Never mind, but let's go." Aerith said as she started walking. "C'mon, Miss Cloud!"

"Coming…" Cloud sighed as he hurried along.

"This isn't working…" Zack sighed. Then his eyes brightened. "Let's get her a cute animal! Girls love cute animals!" Zack waved his fist high in the air to show his victory to none other than Ienzo.

"Not all girls actually love animals…" Ienzo said as he remembered Larxene.

"Utter nonsense!" Zack boasted. "I know that my Aerith will fall for any cute animal that she sees. This plan will be foolproof! To the souvenir shop!"

* * *

"Watashi wa no namae wa Sakuya Yukina desu...." She answered. "That's how you present your name when first meeting someone in my world. "Also in my world, you would refer to myself as 'ore' rather than 'watashi'. It's a gender difference in the spoken language."

"I see." Riku answered. "There are a great number of things that are different between our worlds. But that makes me think…how'd you get here in the first place?"

"Oh…I got here by…eto…ano…" Yukina pondered but then she suddenly jumped up. "Dan-Dan-sama! I completely forgot about him! I need him to get back home! Where could he possibly be on this island!?" Yukina started flailing her arms around, but was pulled back down by Riku.

"Now, take deep breaths…" Riku instructed. Yukina followed Riku's instructions and sat upright afterwards. "What does…'Dan-Dan-sama' look like?"

"Oh! Dan-Dan-sama is very small, he has a red scarf, he has beady blue eyes, black stitched on limbs, and he's a panda!"

"You could've just said 'a panda doll.'" Riku explained.

"O-Okay…"

"Does he look something like this?" Riku asked as he took out the article. Yukina's eyes brightened as she saw what she had looked for. "I found him in my boat last night."

"Dan-Dan-sama didn't cause you any trouble, did he?" Yukina asked she held the panda doll in front of her with outstretched arms. "He can be annoying at times. The others seem to have a big trouble whenever he's around."

"If you meant that he was trouble by making me carry him around, then he was practically no trouble at all." Riku assured her.

"Thank you for locating Dan-Dan-sama!" Yukina smiled at Riku. "Arigato gozaimasu, Riku-kun." Her smile didn't seem as big as Riku expected. Instead of closing her eyes, she kept them open while staring at the sand. She seemed focused on something. For almost everyone, a happy smile is when you don't have anything to care about except how much warmth in your heart is present at the time.

Riku noticed something when she smiled at that moment. "Your smile…"

"Does it look good? Everyone says that what they like about me is—"

"Don't avoid things when people are asking you something." Riku interrupted. "What I wanted to ask was…why does your smile seem incredible lonely?" Riku asked. When her smile faltered, he knew that she had a much better smile than what she had just shown him. "Are you worried about something? Scared? What's bothering you?"

"It's just that…I don't want anyone to be hurt over me." Yukina answered solemnly. "There are people that care a lot about me, but…I can't do anything but hurt them. I don't want anyone to suffer because of my existence. I want to return those feelings but I don't know what to do in this situation. What can I do?"

"Don't do anything." Riku replied to her question. "If you don't know what to do, then don't do anything until the idea dawns on you."

"Wh-What? I can't do anything—!?"

"Don't think that people are waiting for the opportunity to get back at you when you hurt them. If they truly are your friends, then they'll wait…" Riku closed his eyes and felt the ocean breeze. 'She's just like me. She has the same problems, and she thinks just like me. I hurt Sora and Kairi, but they're just fine with it. They forgave me. Even now I'm not really doing anything, and they're still okay.'

"Okay, I'll wait and do nothing until the perfect idea comes to me!" Yukina shouted as she put a fist in the air.

"I didn't mean for you to be determined about it…" Riku explained. "Just wait until you're ready to do what you need to do."

"Riku-kun...thank you." Yukina looked back to him. "There's something I noticed: for a long time, you seemed solemn and uneasy, but now you look happy and relaxed! For me it's a big change seeing as I met you only a few hours ago!"

"I do not look solemn!" Riku protested.

"So you admit it!" Yukina laughed. She syopped when she felt a hand on her cheek.

"Now that's a real smile." Riku smiled in return. "By the way, I've noticed that you have bruises in almost every place. Were you in some sort of accident?"

"Umm…yeah…" Yukina looked away. "The bruises have stayed there for a while now. But now they're starting to fade. So…don't worry about it."

"People worry because they want to." Riku explained. "It just shows how much the people around you care about you. It's how they show how much you're important in their lives. But, in the future, try to protect yourself. If you really don't want to burden them anymore, then keep yourself safe."

"Yeah…"

They were both smiling happily at each other, but they were interrupted by…

"WHO'S YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND RIKU!?" An annoying voice shouted from the docks.

"She isn't my girlfriend! We just met!" Riku shouted as he stood up.

"So I take that it's love at first sight?" A different, feminine, voice called out. "I like the way your romance was planned out!"

"We are not in love!" Riku shouted.

"Riku-kun, are these your friends that you told me about?" Yukina asked as she came up behind Riku. "It's nice to meet you!" She walked over to the dock to make their meeting formal. "I'm Yukina. You must be Sora and Kairi." She faced each of them while saying their names. Both of them nodded in response.

"What's with the stuffed animal?" Sora asked Yukina as he pointed to said item.

"He's a good friend of mine! His name is Dan-Dan-sama!" Yukina held the panda in front of Sora in delight.

"So…you're from another world?" Sora asked, not minding the panda. "I hope you have a method of getting back home. I remember how I used to wrestle for the gummi ship controls…"

"I do…don't worry." Yukina said in assurance. "But…while I'm here, are there any highlights that I should watch out for?"

"Well, waiting for the nighttime is a must-see for any foreigner." Kairi suggested. "I don't think that you won't see more stars in any other sky!"

"Okay, I'll just stay till nighttime then!" Yukina shouted.

* * *

"When I told you to get a cute animal, I meant a stuffed one…" Zack sighed as he slapped himself on the forehead. Much to their surprise, Ienzo had brought a real cow to the supposed couple while the two of them were alone.

"Something told me that this would do the trick." Ienzo replied as he scratched his head. Suddenly Zack snatched the rope that was attached to the cow's neck from Ienzo's hand.

"Oh dear and beautiful Aerith, I beg your forgiveness of my disappearance with the sacrifice of this bovine creature. May you do whatever you wish to the creature as its ownership now belongs to you." Zack recited as he held out the rope to Aerith.

Aerith stayed silent. Then her lips curled into a small smile. "Oh Zack…" Her smile got bigger and then she ended up laughing about it. "I can't believe you got me an actual cow just to apologize to me! Ha ha ha!"

Zack looked away and started walking off in a random direction. "I'll just…return the cow to…wherever it was from…"

Ienzo decided to meddle no further in this matter and decided to get back to the hotel because it was starting to get a little late. Plus, there were clouds gathering in the sky, which meant that it would rain soon. Suddenly he felt Aerith brush past his shoulder and when he looked back, Aerith was holding Zack's hands in her own.

"You can return the cow, but…" Aerith looked up into Zack's eyes, and their faces got closer together. "…You can consider the apology accepted."

Ienzo had never kissed anyone before, and now seeing a couple kiss each other was something entirely new to him. He could see that they were truly in love with each other and it seemed like something that wouldn't change anytime soon. '_Anyone can tell that they're happy. But I wonder what else those two are feeling right now…_' He suddenly remembered Yukina as well as the smile that was strikingly similar to Aerith's when she was laughing. He didn't blush and decided to keep the thought fresh in his mind rather than dispersing it. '_I should leave them alone. I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't want someone watching them_.'

"So, Aerith-chan…" Zack started. "You were never dating Cloud?"

"Of course I was. But it was only to provoke you and to teach you a lesson." Aerith pointed out. "Even if he sees us together, I think he can let it slide."

"Oh yeah, Ienzo!" Zack called out. "Thanks. Maybe I'll see you around sometime soon."

"Yeah…" Ienzo gave a small smile in reassurance and walked off back to the hotel.

* * *

Yukina watched in awe as she saw each of the stars come out one by one in the darkening blue sky. She sat back on the sand and watched the stars as they glittered across the sky. Yukina smiled and wished that everyone could watch the stars together with her. But Riku, Sora, and Kairi were all new friends, and they were all sitting with her.

"You seem content." Kairi commented. Yukina nodded in response. "This must be your first time actually looking at this kind of event. But not every place can have a great view like this. I remember that time when Sora made that promise…"

"Kairi! She doesn't need to know that!" Sora protested. "The stars all went back up into the sky, and then you were able to complete that paopu drawing in the cave. Just because a particular moment resembles another you should tell Yuki about it!"

"Sugoi!" Yukina exclaimed. "Kairi-san, you saw all that?"

"Yup. That moment was one of the best I'll ever experience." Kairi went on. "Maybe you'll have moments like that soon, Yuki."

"I hope so too." Yukina added. "Riku-kun, why are you so quiet?"

"Nothing! I was just…thinking." Riku answered. "I was wondering if you'd have a chance to come back to the island sometime soon."

"This is just like what Leon said! 'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.'" Sora quoted. "I never thought that that line would come up again!"

"Well, Sora-kun, it all depends on when and how you use it." Yukina looked at the panda doll she was holding. "Oh! Dan-Dan-sama! You're finally awake!"

"That doll is alive!?" Sora shouted when he saw the doll hop out of Yukina's arms and stand up on its own.

"Dan-Dan-sama, can you take me home?" Yukina asked. The panda doll nodded.

"What can that doll do?" Riku asked. His question was answered when he saw the doll conjure up a portal onto the sand. "Oh."

"We've only just met." Sora explained. "Why do you have to leave so soon?"

"There are others who would miss me if I stay away for too long." Yukina answered. "I don't want them to worry. So, I have to return home."

"But—!"

"Sora, if she wants to go, then she can go." Riku interrupted. "Yukina, just keep yourself safe. So that way, we won't worry about you as much. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Ienzo went up to the hotel roof after checking Demyx's room. As it turns out, he was there, but he was playing a blue sitar. Ienzo tried his best to keep his presence a secret as he listened to each note. Demyx was certainly skilled in it, and was able to play it without looking at the strings even once. The music produced would be breathtaking to many, and Ienzo found it beautiful, to an extent. Demyx suddenly stopped when he opened his eyes and turned around.

"Oh. It's you." Demyx exhaled. "I know that you're mad at me. Well, go ahead and hit me again if you want to."

"I'm angry at you..." Ienzo stated, but then he walked over to where Demyx was and sat down. "…But now I can't bring myself to hate you."

"Funny." Demyx said out of nowhere.

"What is?" Ienzo asked.

"It's just that…for the most part, I've been hated all my life, whether or not I did something wrong. I practically committed a crime, and now I'm not hated anymore. It wavers my opinions on whether I should get my heart back or not."

"There's still one person who bothered to care for you." Ienzo commented.

"I know. There's Yuki." Demyx gave off a smirk. "I have no right to consider her as a friend now. I kidnapped her, even though I had an other option."

"Demyx, what do you mean that you had one other option?" Ienzo asked.

"Well, our leader, Xemnas, said that I was the one that should do it." Demyx explained. "I didn't want to do it. I didn't know what it would do to her. She's already been through so much, and I didn't want her to experience another hardship. But…I was too much of a coward to refuse. He…He would have killed me if I actually didn't do it."

"Why the hell couldn't you just say so in the first place?" Ienzo asked as he looked over to Demyx. "I'm pretty sure that there was something on that text message, but…you could've at least emphasized."

"I'm an idiot." Demyx replied. "I usually overlook these kinds of things. But at least…Yuki was able to forgive me. There's no one like her. Hey, do you know just what 'Yuki' means?"

Ienzo shook his head.

"Well, there are actually two different meanings, depending on how you look at it." Demyx explained. "'Yuki' can mean tender princess. That's the first one." Demyx smiled. "Our Yuki definitely is a princess. She's kind and thoughtful, and she looks out for others…"

"What's the other meaning?" Ienzo asked. Suddenly, he started shivering. "How did it suddenly get so cold?"

"Well, they said that it's be really cold tonight when I checked the weather channel…" Demyx answered. "Hey…look!" Demyx pointed.

"What is it?" Ienzo asked as he looked upwards. "The sky…"

"Mm-hmm!" Demyx nodded. "It's snowing! Hey, this is just what the other meaning of Yuki is! It's snow!"

"Snow…" Ienzo repeated. He waited for one to fall into his hand, and looked at it. "She's a little bit of both. Sakuya-san, I mean."

"You mean how she's both snow and a 'tender princess?'" Demyx questioned. "I guess if think even more about it, it does make sense." Demyx jumped up and danced. "I've never, never been able to play in the snow before! We can have snowball fights, and build a snowman when it all piles up enough! Better yet, we'll make the cold temperatures freeze the hallways and we'll race! I'll never lose!"

"That's stupid." Ienzo said bluntly.

"Whaaaat?"

"When Sakuya-san comes back…be sure to let her have fun too. You said that she had hardships, so let her have some fun." Ienzo looked back on that moment when he saw Zack and Aerith kiss each other. '_Will me and Sakuya-san ever get that close?'_

"Don't worry, I will." Demyx answered. '_Ienzo certainly has changed. Before, he would ignore almost anyone that tried to talk to him, but now…he's opening up. All because of her._'

* * *

"Hey, Riku." Sora said. "What did you two talk about before me and Kairi got here?"

"I wanted her to gain self-confidence. It might not have been much, but now she knows better." Riku answered confidently.

* * *

((I finished this chapter in all of three days! HAH! Okay. Maybe you'll question why I put those certain three characters in this chapter, but it will all be explained in good time. You might also question why I put in Zack and Aerith's questionable relationship as a side-plot, but I thought it might help Ienzo-chan along in his own relationship. I have quite an odd, but traditional way to help Yuki-chan along as well. See you in the next chapter, okay?))


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Yukina woke up, finding herself in the bustling city that she lived in. It was strange, however, that she was just waking up in the middle of a crowd that kept moving past her. '_Why are they all so distant_?' She got to her feet and walked through the crowd, but the thought that she was around so many people, and not being noticed despite her current state, was terrifying to her. '_I'll just try finding my way back to the others soon enough. Maybe asking won't hurt…_'

"Excuse me…can you…" Yukina tried asking a nearby woman, but that woman looked at her watch as she kept walking. "Sir, can you direct me to…" Like before, another man man ignored her and walked off. "Can someone please listen to me!?" She shouted. No one had listened. "This can't be happening…I just got back….and now I'm…no one!"

No one had noticed her scream afterwards.

"WHY!?" She screamed. "Why can't I actually have people stay with me!? They always leave me! No one cares!" She fell to her knees and started crying. "Why…isn't anyone there!? Everyone is supposed to wait for me! They can't leave me behind! Everyone's supposed to welcome me! I can't go back there! Not again!" She continued crying for some time until she felt things around her get colder.

As Yukina was slowly being brought out from her dream, she found herself on the ground and everything was increasingly cold. '_My body…feels so weak. Everything in my body feels shattered._' She tried to see if she could have her arms support her as she got up, but she fell down. She was only able to raise her head slightly to look around, but no one was around. '_No one…no one…no one is here_.' She cried as she lowered her head back down. The only sounds she could make right now were her sharp intakes of air as she slowly succumbed to the freezing temperature. Her eyes widened as she found a dark shape in front of her. '_Is it Demyx-nii…or Ienzo-kun?_' She reached for that dark shape that seemed so far away. She wanted that person to stop walking away, but the only sound she could manage was that of a weak groan. She felt relieved, but then she realized that the figure was of no one that she knew.

"Hey, you okay?" The mysterious person asked as he bent down to take a closer look.

'_Why can't anything go right for me_?' Due to having lost her voice, she shook her head weakly. Everything suddenly started getting blurry. '_Why…_' She was thinking of that and only that before going unconscious.

* * *

Ienzo found a slight chill in his room as he found his window wide open that morning. '_So it's still snowing. I'm pretty sure that Sakuya-san would like it when she comes back._' Ienzo sat up and looked out of the window from his bed. He put one of his arms on the windowsill and stretched the other one out of the window. He was wearing a sleeveless nightshirt, but the cold temperature didn't bother him. He pulled his arm in when he caught another snowflake. He stared at the snowflake as it started to melt and thought, '_Sakuya-san… as soon as I find you, I'll do everything in my power to stop those hardships you're going through_.' As he stared out of the window, he sighed before shouting out. "That was as corny as hell!"

After shouting, he heard his stomach growl, which made him want to get out of bed. Ienzo looked out the window one last time before stepping out of his bed…only to slip and fall on his back. '_What the hell…? The floor is colder than I expected…_' He pressed his palm on the floor and realized that there was actually ice on the floor. Then he remembered his conversation with Demyx last night.

"_Better yet, we'll make the cold temperatures freeze the hallways and we'll race! I'll never lose!"_

"Did he seriously freeze the hallways too?" Ienzo asked himself. "Might as well see the damage…" Ienzo hissed as he got up, and held onto his bedside table for support. "If I do a split and I rip my pants while doing it, then I'm going to die if someone catches me." He slowly slid his way toward the door slowly as to not make any sudden movements. '_Slowly…slowly…_' Ienzo thought to himself.

This was a bigger ordeal for Ienzo than anyone would expect, seeing as he only reached a few inches for every ten minutes. Soon, his stomach began to growl louder. '_Better pick up the pace…_' He pushed from the wall, and slipped onto his back once again. "That…hurt." He hissed out of pain once more as he—tried to—get back up again. Now that his hands were wet from the ice, he could barely grab a hold of anything. He sighed, "Screw this." He let himself slide back down to the floor. "I got it!" He slowly started sliding forward, and almost reached the door.

"Ienzo! Time for breakfast!" A deep and unfamiliar sound called out as he opened the door…and unintentionally slammed the door into Ienzo's face. "Oh, sorry Ienzo." He carefully slid through the door without getting Ienzo's face injured any further. He bent down and picked Ienzo up by his arm. "I think I knocked him out…"

Lexaeus sighed as he started carrying Ienzo's unconscious body on his shoulder. He proceeded to go downstairs where everyone was eating downstairs in the lobby. He positioned Ienzo on a chair, which made his head fall upon a coffee table with a prominent 'Thud.'

"Lexaeus, I thought I asked you to call him down, not to hunt him down." Vexen sighed before taking a sip of coffee. "And I thought you were the silent type…" Within the confines of his own thoughts, he was laughing due to the fact that Lexaeus would go so far to knock out someone so short compared to the former.

"I didn't knock him out intentionally." Lexaeus grumbled before taking a seat. "He was lying on the floor when I tried to call him down." He picked up a fork and started wolfing down whatever was on the table, not really caring which plate it belonged to, so long as no one had taken a bite out of it yet. 'How is it my fault that he's lying on the floor?'

"Let's just go along with you opening the door when he was about to exit and when the door collided with his face, he was knocked out and he fell to the floor." Yet another new face said. "That sounds just about right…"

"I certainly didn't hear him fall to the floor." Lexaeus growled again. This time, he took a pancake from Xaldin's plate, much to his chagrin. "It was an accident…"

"Well, we certainly can't simmer on about this for the duration of the day without acting like immature kindergarteners, so let's let this go completely." The last one said before taking a sip out of his coffee. "I'm glad I already ate, considering this gluttonous oaf is eating everything."

"Oh, this isn't gluttonous, he's only a little bit aggravated." Vexen warned. "If you really want to see him gluttonous, take him to an all-you-can-eat buffet when he hasn't eaten in just one day." Vexen reminisced about a past event, and chuckled. "And Master Ansem said that it was all on him…"

"Guuuuuuhh…" A moan came from an awakening Ienzo. He rubbed his forehead a couple of times before finally raising his head from the table and looking around. "Who the hell are you people…?" Then he looked in another direction to think. "I was on the floor…and then I was hit by something…" Suddenly, his eyes widened as he made an assumption. "I wasn't…kidnapped…WAS I!?

"Calm down, Ienzo." Lexaeus assured him as he laid a heavy hand on Ienzo's shoulder. "While you…were still in bed…" Lexaeus cleared his voice as soon as he heard the other three snickering. "I brought you down here so you could eat."

"Okay…thanks." Ienzo said nervously. He looked around for the sign of any others within his line of vision, to find just himself and the other four men around the table. "I take it that you wouldn't know where they went…?" He asked. 'Complete strangers (except the oldest-looking one), and I'm in a casual conversation with them. Plus, they're all enemies. Should I be this relaxed?'

"Some are outside, playing in the snow." Vexen answered. "Then again, the red porcupine is doing his best to avoid having any contact with the 'fluffy white death'." Vexen sighed. "He could at least take a second look at it before actually dismissing it as the worst thing that's happened to him. There's much more to many things. Then there's Saix who I haven't seen since…"

"Did you guys have a problem with the slippery floors?" Ienzo asked, not paying any mind to Vexen's words, which was a little cold, even for the Academic. "I wasn't able to stay standing with the ice on the floor. Any problems for you guys?"

"Not a one…" All four of them replied, much to Ienzo's annoyance.

Ienzo got less tentative as he continued his conversation with the group, from introductions, to other's embarrassing moments. Ienzo found that actually conversing with people was more interesting, rather than distressing. They all had their own likes, dislikes, and they clashed with what he thought they would all be like. In a way, he felt something familiar with each of them, and he knew right away it was because they met before. But at the same time, he felt unfamiliarity as well. He looked outside to find the ones he knew throwing snowballs at each other or making snowmen which were knocked down shortly after. It all felt…out of place.

"Ienzo…" Vexen said as he shook Ienzo's shoulder. "Are you still listening?"

"Well…not anymore." Ienzo frankly replied. "I guess it was…good talking to you guys. But…I feel like going outside." He stopped mid-step as he realized he never changed his clothes and was also feeling the rather cold temperatures. "I'll be right back…"

As soon as Ienzo disappeared, Xaldin exhaled and leaned back in his chair. "We never talk, but…I'm sure the boy is at a standstill at this moment. That girl has changed him, but I would say that he's not at the point where he can be without emotional support from others just yet."

"All too true." Luxord agreed. "But perhaps the three missing ones will talk to him. It may not be much, but it would at least make a small difference, wouldn't it?"

"Knowing Ienzo…" Lexaeus started. "He would take all the advice he would need should it ever concern that of Yukina. Despite his sophistication, Ienzo is—in many ways—still a small child."

"Ienzo would always put much of his strength into one hand, but forget what he has to do with the other." Vexen added. "Then there's the fact that he expects things to be easy on him for the long run. Even when he gets hurt in some way…there are ways that he doesn't know how to react. There's still a good number of things that he doesn't know, and that's what Yukina is for."

* * *

'_There were people passing by me without paying attention in the slightest. I was scared. I wasn't noticed. Was it because I didn't know any of them? I don't want to go through a world of strangers without someone I know by my side. I need someone. Otherwise…I can't breathe_.'

Yukina couldn't remember where she was, or what was happening around her. Even what she was seeing was blurred and the words she could catch were either muffled or incomplete. '_It's…suffocating. It's painful. All of this…it's anything but pleasant. This isn't at all how I would imagine things to be when I got back_.' She felt a small spark of hope and tried to this hope. '_Maybe this isn't it. I should…stay awake in case the others will greet me._' In spite of her pains, even then, her eyes tried to force themselves close. She raised her arm, in order for someone to hold it and keep her company. '_Would anyone help_?' She asked herself. She felt something on her arm, but then someone else had forced her arm down. '_It's really hard…it's so hard to breathe. My lungs…hurt_.' She now had trouble breathing because her lungs were feeling frozen and heavy. Slowly, things were starting to clear up. Now she felt that she was on some sort of bed. There were a few silhouettes of people staring down at her. '_Maybe the others…don't know where I am? Someone…anyone…should come for me…soon._' One by one, the people that she was able to see left. Someone stayed behind. '_What is he going to do?_' Something was carefully placed on her face before the last person left the room. Gradually, her breathing improved and now she was able to breathe without a problem. But there was still a pain in her chest. A pain in her heart. She looked over to her left, and found a grey sky.

'_Now the sky is gloomier…It's all so depressing…I don't have anyone right now…I don't have anything…Where should I go_?' She went unconscious once more.

* * *

Saix exhaled to see his own breath. He continued walking down the snow sidewalk as he took a look at the other stores open. His eyes drifted upwards towards the sky. '_Maybe I should've told the others where I was going before I ran off. Or Maybe I'm worrying too much?_' The cold left his face slightly burned with each strong blow of the wind. The scar that was permanently embedded on his face was stinging due to the freezing temperatures. Several times he winced in pain. '_I can't keep walking. I just need to stay in one place for a few moments…_' He looked over to his right to see which store he stopped at. '_A pet store?_' Then he remembered which one this was. '_It was only for a short time, but I know that we went here one time. Most of the rabbits liked me for some reason…_' He looked down to find half of the displaying glass covered with rabbits that were looking straight at him in all of their fluffy splendor. '_The rabbits…sure are cute._' Then he slapped himself as he regretted that thought. '_I'm supposed to be a cold-blooded berserker. What's wrong with me_?'

Saix walked for about half an hour more to come to a café. '_I haven't had a cup of coffee since yesterday, so I guess I might as well buy one now_.' He went ahead and found the café pretty empty. With only two waitresses and two waiters managing. They noticed that business wasn't going so well. '_I guess I don't have to wait for a table._' Suddenly all four of the teenagers crowded around him. "Can I help you?" He asked nervously.

"Well, we're supposed to say that…" One of the blond males stated. Then a girl with brown hair whacked him on the head. "What was that for, Yuna-san?"

"Welcome to our humble café!" Yuna greeted happily, completely ignoring her co-worker's complaint. "We're happy to be of service and thank you for picking us! Now, what would you like to order?"

"All I wanted was a cup of coffee—" Suddenly the other girl with orange hair placed a hand in front of his face.

"Say no more! We'll fix you up a cup of joe right away!" She answered. "Everyone! Let's get moving! We finally have a customer and we're not supposed to scare him off!" Yuna and the blond teen, who was labeled as Tidus by his nametag, went into the kitchen.

"Refia-senpai, considering that scar, I doubt he's afraid of much." The last teenager replied. "We probably won't scare him off, but I think our service with just one customer is a little unnerving for him. Don't you think that we're being a little over the top with this?"

"Shut up, Ingus-kohai!" Refia scowled. Then her face brightened as she heard a prominent 'Ding!' "Yay! My cinnamon bun is ready!" Refia then ran off behind the counter to get the dessert from the microwave.

"I'm only your kohai by one day." Ingus sighed. To Saix, it seemed as if Ingus was the only sane person in the café's staff. "Don't worry sir, your coffee will be ready for you in just a few minutes." Ingus looked over to Saix, who was just staring ahead. "Um…sir?"

'It was as if I never even left the hotel. I walked into what I was trying to avoid. Will I ever find any real peace in this world while still coming in contact with other people?' Saix sighed before slumping n his seat. "I'm fine. I'm just…a little tired, to say the least."

"If you're tired, just take some tea. It's better than coffee." Ingus suggested.

"Not that. It's the people that I'm forced to hang around with that make me frustrated." Saix answered.

"Once again: tea." Ingus insisted. "I take it that you don't take care of yourself very well…and you probably don't plan on starting anytime soon."

"I guess…it's because…I've never been concerned with what happens to me." Saix suddenly froze. '_I'm telling my waiter what I think about myself. It's…out of place_.' "Do you usually question your customers?"

"Aside from school, there isn't much that goes on." Ingus sadly sighed. "I take every chance I see when if it seems worth the attention. But in this case, I'd say you're the only opportunity I'd have in some time. Business is crappy lately because everyone flocks to Sapporo for the winter festival they hold every year. It's annual, but it still sucks because we're usually booming with business. Speaking of which, every year, we're supposed to think up of something that might bring back customers."

"How about a karaoke night?" Saix suggested. "Then there's a free drink with every desert…or something like that." Ingus shook his head at both given choices. "Well…" Saix calmly exhaled. "…Sucks to be you."

"Don't insult your waiter!" Ingus angrily snapped back. "For all you know—" Refia placing a cup of coffee on his head stopped Ingus before he could continue. "Refia…why'd you do that?"

"No scaring away the customer!" Refia happily replied as she clapped her hands together. "Give him his coffee so we can brainstorm as a group. A loud explosion had gone off in the kitchen. "That's today's explosion! Better go see if those two are hurt…"

"Don't ask." Ingus cautiously commented. Slowly, he lifted his arms and grabbed a hold of the saucer that the cup was placed on it. "Here you go. Drink _quickly_."

Saix intentionally took half an hour to finish his coffee, which annoyed Ingus. After the ordeal, Saix was about to take off until Refia called him back. "It's our new gimmick! We're going to hand free Kawaii Kawaii Fuwa-Fuwa Usa-chan plushies for any desert or drink worth a thousand yen or less! It may not be much, or of any interest to you, but please accept it as a token of appreciation for choosing us as your café!" Refia placed the ten-inch, light-blue tinted rabbit doll in Saix's hands.

"Umm…thanks." Saix placed the rabbit plush in a coat pocket, where its head and arms stuck out. Saix walked out without another word, but as he looked at his rabbit plush again, he couldn't help but feel lucky that he got it.

* * *

'_I remember…I was in that dark room. The room that seemed still and quiet for days. It was just like the one I was forced to stay in…after Luneth and I were separated. I hate rooms like that. I don't want to go through that…not again._' Yukina weakly opened her eyes and tried to look back on what she remembered. '_Someone…came into the room. He…hit me…over and over again. He asked me things. I couldn't…answer them. It felt like he had continued that for years. 'Someone came along, but…I don't remember the face. Was I happy? Sad? Confused? How come I can hardly remember anything now?_' When Yukina tried to get up, she was held back by a few cords, and without any words, she tore them off, even if it did sting. After she got the breathing mask off, she walked out of the room. '_Wait. There was even one more person. We were talking for a long time, but it wasn't long enough. I wanted him to tell me more. I needed to know more about him. There was something about his appearance_.' Yukina pondered as she couldn't stop going in and out of consciousness. Her vision got blurred and cleared and it all became blurry again. '_Everyone…who? Waiting…where? I can barely remember. I just want to scream. But I can't. It all hurts so much but…I can't scream_.' After feeling the temperatures suddenly drop, she walked off in the direction of a place that only she knew about. '_Maybe it's just a dream. Maybe nothing really happened to me. I'm just…waiting for someone._' Her legs felt heavy and she was chilled down to the bone, but she kept going. '_I don't know what to do anymore. I don't even know why it's so cold out. I just…need to be…somewhere._'

* * *

'_I'm lucky I was able to get away from them_.' Demyx thought to himself as he passed through the empty streets. '_Boy this place is empty. It's almost spooky_.' He pulled out his cellphone, and looked to see whom he should call. '_Ienzo-kun's accepted my apology. But then there's the matter of Yuki-chan. I do hope she's alright_.' "The heck am I supposed to do now!?" He yelled while throwing his arms out. His mistake was brought to his attention when he heard glass breaking from the second story of a building. He waved his hand several times to make sure that his cellphone was there, but unfortunately, it wasn't. 'I have to get my cellphone back before I end up paying for that window.'

Demyx casually walked in and found the elevator. '_I just get my cellphone back and walk out of here while no one notices. It's as simple as that._' Demyx carefully peaked through glass placed on the doors to see if there was a hole in any of the windows. At the same time, he bothered looking at the names listed by the doors. 'All these names sound the same. One needs to actually sound unique.' He finally found the room with a hole in its window, and he found that the door was unlocked. He picked up his cellphone and found it undamaged. He looked over to the bed in front of him, which lay empty but messed up for some apparent reason. '_Whoever was in that bed must not have been one to tidy up._' He closed the door and decided to take a look at the name. However, he was shocked to find out who it was.

_Sakuya, Yukina_

'_Yuki-chan's room!? She must be—or has been…here, in this room._' He sighed and shook his head. '_I missed my chance to see her. Chances are, she moved to a different room, or_—'

"Are you here to visit one of our patients?" Came a voice nearby. Demyx found a nurse who was pushing along a cart with a tray of food on it. "You're early by ten minutes, but I guess I can let you in. Conveniently, this room has the patient I have to bring food to. Now if you'll let me aside."

Demyx stepped back and let the nurse through the door. As the nurse entered the room, Demyx heard the nurse gasp and saw her run out a few seconds later. '_That means…Yuki-chan escaped on her own. But…_' Demyx's eyes widened as he realized what could happen if Yukina was let alone. '_It's freezing out there! If she stays out there for a long time…_'

Demyx rushed back out of the hospital and cupped his hands together as he called out Yukina's name. "Yuki! Yuki! Yuki-chan! Where are you!?" He ran as fast as he could throughout the silent city. With each shout, something was eating away at him. "Yuki! Yuki! Yuki. Yuki…" Demyx fell to his knees and felt tears run down his face. "This is all my fault! This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't such a coward…" Demyx gulped as he thought of his solution. He nervously dialed in Ienzo's number and called.

* * *

'_This…scent. It's familiar, but only by a bit. There's something wrong with it. The scent is supposed to be…purer. Now it's faded. Could it be…?_' Ienzo ran as fast as he could to where the scent was emanating from. '_Sakuya-san…is it you_?' He had received Demyx's call almost immediately before sensing this. He stopped when he was lead to a tunnel. '_Sakuya-san, are you really here? Just ahead of me?_' Ienzo ran _through the large and dimly lit tunnel, while thinking of Yukina's possible reactions. 'Would she be happy? Surprised? Confused? Even…scared?_' As soon as he saw her white hair, he knew that she was there.

Yukina was sitting at the edge of a high cliff, letting her feet dangle. Slowly, she turned around. Both of them stared into each other's eyes. Their emotions were running quickly in their hearts. Both of them an ambivalent action in mind. They wanted to run and hold each other close, but run away at the same time. Instead of doing either, they kept gazing at each other in disbelief. Finally, Yukina made the first move of standing up, and making her way toward Ienzo.

Suddenly, the ground of the unstable cliff began to sink from underneath her.

'YUKINA!!" Ienzo shouted. He caught her arm before she was able to fall to her death. "Yukina-san…don't let go!" Ienzo gasped. Yukina's body was still weak, and because of that the wasn't able to look up at Ienzo and nod. "Yukina-san…" Ienzo struggled to get a footing and pull Yukina up, but it was to no avail. Ienzo's hands started growing tired of holding Yukina's arm. Even Yukina's grip was weakening. '_Yukina-san…you have to pull yourself up. I can't keep this up for much longer_…' Ienzo thought. He reached down to grip Yukina's shirt, and he pulled her farther in. Yukina crawled in.

Exhausted, the both of them rested their backs on the remaining stable parts of the cliff. When they caught their breath, they sat up and looked down. Finally considering the fact that they were alone, Ienzo swallowed his fears.

"Sakuya-san, I…" Ienzo went blank. What would he say? What would he do now? He decided to go along with whatever he had to work with. "I…I wanted to ask—"

Instead of being given the chance to finish, he was pulled close into a warm embrace. Yukina cried because she finally had someone close to her be with her at this moment. What was only a few hours felt like years for her. An ordeal that was now finished. "I'm…finally with Ienzo-kun…" Yukina said weakly. "Arigato…Ienzo-kun." She gripped Ienzo's jacket as she buried her face within his chest. "I…I'm home."

Ienzo hugged her tightly in response. '_She's been through so much. This girl always seemed so fragile, yet she took it all. She was strong enough to endure all that. She's been crying tears that should have remained dry. Sakuya-san…_'

"Welcome home."

* * *

"With winter here, it's as if the days are getting shorter now, doesn't it?" Roxas asked around for a matter of opinion. There were several nodded heads. "Axel, you seem awfully quiet.

"It's…too…damn…cold!" Axel growled loudly. "I hate it when it snows or rains! It's always too cold! And if I actually wanted to be noisy, I would force Demyx to sing, which we all know will never happen. Can someone get me some hot chocolate?"

"But Aku-chan is a big boy now!" Larxene shouted as she slammed her fist down on the table. "Don't expect anyone to do any favors for you! You're not supposed to be lazy now that we're practically off the hook! Learn to do things yourself!"

"Says the woman who demands and extorts." Axel casually commented. In response, Larxene had knives pointed at his neck. "Like you're going to kill me over a simple matter of hot chocolate…" Axel smiled, Larxene hissed.

"Hissing." Roxas said to break the tension. "That's new for Larxene. All I ever heard from her are growls, grunts, and shouting."

"Hey guys…" Marluxia spotted something out in the snow. "Hey! It's Ienzo!" Marluxia noticed… "Ienzo has Yuki-chan with him!"

"YUKI!?" Everyone who heard Marluxia shouted.

Ienzo carried an unconscious Yukina in his arms, and he stayed silent for them most part. 'I can only imagine all of their reactions…' He thought to himself. 'I guess I'll just wait and see.'

Everyone stood motionless as he entered through the glass double-doors. He passed through silently. "I guess it isn't much of a welcome." Ienzo looked back to everyone. "Vexen, I'm going to need you for something."

"What—I mean, sure." Vexen, as well as everyone else was nervous for unknown reasons.

"She was right there." Roxas commented to break the silence in the room. "We could've said 'Hi!' or 'How are you doing?' but we stayed motionless. I'd say that we looked more like statues, actually."

"Why the hell couldn't you do anything then!?" Larxene demanded.

* * *

Ienzo had Vexen check what was wrong with Yukina. He had to wait outside of the room, and for that reason he was nervous. 'What if it's that bad? What will I do then?' Ienzo fumbled around with his fingers as he was waiting. When Vexen finally came out of the room, Ienzo gulped.

"It's something along the lines of a severe case of hypothermia." Vexen concluded. "However, there's something more to it. Usually people would be able to recover from hypothermia quickly, even if it is severe."

"What makes Sakuya-san different?" Ienzo asked. "What else is wrong?"

"Right now she has trouble breathing, so she has to sleep sitting up. She'll recover from that…" Vexen continued. "But apparently, she can't talk right now. Well, she can make basic sounds and simple sentences, but not much beyond that, it may have to do with something traumatizing, or it could be another psychological matter." Vexen sighed with depression when he saw Ienzo's saddened expression. "Whatever the case, she'll recover, but I just don't know when."

"Um…thanks." Ienzo sighed. "I guess…we should just leave her to rest."

"That would be the best option." Vexen proceeded to walk downstairs to rejoin the others, but looked again to Ienzo. '_He's just standing there. I can't blame him. This is such a hard blow. I doubt I could take something like this_.' Without another word or thought, he left Ienzo standing alone in the hallway.

Ienzo heard fast footsteps coming his way. When he looked up, he saw Demyx panting. "Demyx? What are you doing here?"

"I…I heard…that you found Yuki." Demyx panted between his words. "C-Can…can I see her?"

"Well, she needs to rest. That's what Vexen said." Ienzo answered. Then he saw Demyx look down. "I'll tell you when she wakes up."

"It's okay, I can wait." Demyx answered confidently. "You don't have to tell me when she wakes up."

"Umm…okay then?"

"Something wrong?"

"Don't just wait for her." Ienzo said. Demyx was surprised by his sudden change in tone. "I'm pretty sure that you have better things to do, rather than wait around for Sakuya-san to wake up." Ienzo now had a completely different expression from that of mere moments ago. "For both our sakes, please don't hurt Yukina again. I may not actually have it in me to forgive you like I did. I won't be able to do it again."

Demyx actually smiled at this, which puzzled Ienzo. "Don't you remember? From last night, I said that people have always hated me. One more person won't be that much of a difference. It's almost something I'm cursed to, so I couldn't care any less about whether or not you'd forgive or not forgive me." Ienzo just stared at Demyx, to which Demyx answered, "It may not be believable, coming from someone like me, but it's true, whether you like it or—"

"Shut up." Ienzo demanded. "I didn't need emphasis. Stop putting yourself down and making it seem like you need more attention. All of us have problems, so stop looking like some abandoned animal on the street. Even…Sakuya-san has her problems, but right now, she needs to take care of herself. She needs to take a break, so don't burden her with your own troubles."

Demyx eyed Ienzo in disbelief over what he had just said. Then he went back to his normal, cheery expression and smiled. "Thanks for the advice, Ienzo-kun! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!" Then he jumped down the stairs.

"I honestly don't know what's wrong with him…" Ienzo sighed.

* * *

Saix walked in to find a practical graveyard in front of him as he looked at the bodies of his fellow former members. "May I ask what was so tragic that everyone has been reduced to piles of withering husks?"

"Well…Ienzo found Yukina…" Lexaeus sternly explained. "…and Ienzo looked depressed as she was held in his arms. You think that the prince would be happy when he finds his princess, right?"

"I see." Saix replied. He sat down and thought about the repercussions of her straying so far away from friends. '_Not anymore. The girl has us to rely on. We've all made our mistakes, so we can't be called responsible. It's just that…we're all she has. I can only imagine the strains this is putting on her. She deserves so much more._' Saix brushed back his hair with his hand as he leaned back in his seat. "I take it that she's resting."

"She is…" Luxord answered. "Bloody hell, it's too quiet!" Luxord slammed his fist down on the table and looked up with a devious grin. "Alright, I've put a handicap on myself…so whoever actually faces me in poker…has a shot at winning!"

"I'M IN!!" Both Xaldin and Xigbar shouted.

"I call next…" Larxene calls out as soon as the three men get their hands. "Who bets that Luxord was lying?"

All hands in the room went up, minus that of Saix. He was still leaning back in his chair and attempting to sleep with an uneasy face. Carefully, Larxene stepped right next to him. "HEY SAIX!! WAKE UP AND JOIN IN THE PARTY!!" Saix fell back in his seat, which caused the chair itself to tumble back on the floor, earning him some laughs.

"What the hell—!?" A hand being placed dangerously closed to his face silenced Saix.

"You're still a nobody, but you should still be able to have fun." Larxene explained as she put her hand down. "You don't have the bastard Xemnas to order you around anymore, so you can loosen up and have a good time for once in your crappy life. Open up."

"Only by allowing others in, can we find new ways to be ourselves." Roxas added. Everyone just stared.

"I guess…it is time I opened up." Saix said as his countenance changed. "By the way, I picked this up at some café earlier, and considering the fact that you're a girl, I thought that you would like it." Saix took the rabbit doll from earlier and placed it in Larxene's hand. He stared to both Larxene and the rabbit, and quickly took the plush back when she saw her hand starting to light up. "I take it you don't like rabbits?"

Larxene gave an exasperated sigh and stomped off, leaving a puzzled Saix behind.

Roxas patted Saix's back, which left him stunned. "Congrats, Saix. Usually when Larxene sees a stuffed animal, she would beat up the person who has it. Consider yourself lucky." Roxas took out a sea salty ice cream bar and started on it. "I guess she just doesn't want to beat up someone so pathetic as you."

"P-Pathetic!?" Saix exclaimed. "How the hell does that make me pathetic!?"

"We don't let her see a stuffed animal if it isn't for the sake of annoying her." Axel answered. "Then there's the fact that the only person who's ever done that would be Demyx on Larxene's first day."

"I get it…I guess." Saix groaned. "When I'm not around, is this what you all usually do?"

"Very good Saix! A+ for you!" Vexen shouted. "What we're trying to do is explain that you still have quite a long ways to go before you van get into an actual conversation and/or discussion with us without one of us actually referencing your ties to Xemnas."

"Will I have to improve social skills?" Saix asked as he tilted his head.

"Oh we're not sociable." Marluxia teased. "We're not even remotely friendly to each other, minus that of Axel and Roxas."

"How are you all still alive then?" Saix asked once more. "If you're all not friendly towards each other, then I would've considered each of you dead by now."

"About that…" Vexen went on. "We're all just stifling the need to kill each other."

"But we're all improving." Roxas added. "Ever since Yuki came along, everyone's been getting along with each other now. We don't break out in fights like we used to, and we're even discussing this actual topic so casually. You can figure out the rest of it now, right?"

"Yeah." Saix looked out the glass double doors and smiled when he saw the pure, white snow upon the ground. "We may harbor negative feelings towards each other, but surely that one girl will help change things for the better."

* * *

"_You're inferior."_

"Nnnngg…"

"_You have no place among us."_

"I…I…"

"_You aren't needed."_

"No…please…"

"_You don't have any excuses for this, do you? You're just a bitch that everyone seems to defend without question. You can't deny this, can you?"_

"STOP!!" Yukina bolted upright in her bed and felt her tears roll down her face. She gripped her blankets until her knuckles turned white. "Stop…stop…stop…" She repeated, with each word becoming weaker and weaker. She was pulled close to someone, and at the moment she didn't care who it was. Just so long as someone was actually there.

"It's okay. Things will be okay." She heard. "Everyone will be there for you. I'll be here."

"Nnn…" She tried her best to stay close to that person, but he slowly forced her hands off of him. "Mmm?"

"You're still a little ill, so you're going to have to rest. But I'll be nearby, okay?"

Slowly, Yukina nodded before her visitor gently lowered her to the bed. Then he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her forehead before leaving and silently closing the door. "Please don't fade."

* * *

((Sorry for vulgar language. But Xemnas is the kind of person to say it. Other than that, I think this chapter turned out well. This took longer than the last chapter. At this point I'm not sure whether or not I'll have a Christmas chapter. In the very likely chance that I won't make the possible deadline, I would at least make it special, and here's an early Merry Christmas to my loyal readers for taking me this far. I never would've been given the chance if it weren't for your reviews. One last thing, I'll explain Saix's fondness for rabbits in the next chapter. Thank you and see you in the next chapter!))


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Demyx woke up in his room, and as soon as he did, he turned on the TV available. "Today, I just feel like staying in my room, all cuddled up…and toasty and warm…and…" He suddenly heard his stomach growl rather loudly, which he stopped at. "…and. Without. Food." He sighed as he adjusted his pillow so that he could sit up in his bed comfortably. "If only there were cute maids that serve me breakfast in bed like they do on the TV…then I would probably never leave the comfort of my toasty warm bed ever again…" He lazily continued watching the TV, ignoring the fact that his stomach was growling. Suddenly, as a new show started, his eyes popped open with childlike anticipation. "This looks interesting…" Demyx said as he grinned, watching the characters move left and right on the screen. A few plot points were explained, with a special event being dubbed…

* * *

"Christmas!" Demyx shouted to everyone at the breakfast table. "That's what it's called!" Demyx jumped up and down as he hurriedly explained to everyone. "I saw it on the television! You decorate everything in bright lights, and you mercilessly chop down a tree so you can set it up with ornaments, and you put up hacked-off leafs over doorways, you sing songs to people when they open the door for you and—" Instead of throwing her hand over Demyx's mouth as usual, she used a nearby dish towel and tied Demyx's mouth shut. Demyx started struggling to get the dishtowel off as it was… '_DIRTY!! This tastes like a bunch of Axel's burned laundry being stuffed down my throat_!!' As the others watched his antics, Roxas seemed to wonder about the possibilities.

"Hey, when Demyx actually gets that thing off of his face, you think we can let him elaborate on the hair-brained ad he saw?" Roxas bit into his breakfast before speaking again. "This seems kind of corny, the way he described it, but I think it can actually get us somewhere. I mean…" Roxas looked back to the pathetic-looking Demyx with him barely able to untie the knot that Larxene had tied. "He hasn't really been this excited before."

"Whoa there, Roxas." Axel yanked Roxas' hair and pulled him over to his side. "Let's just wait 'til Ienzo's this excited. If that actually happens, then we'll go along with it." Axel let go of Roxas and took a piece of bread. He self-toasted it and bit into it hungrily. "Who knows when that'll happen?"

"It's much better than it sounds!" Demyx shouted when he yanked the dishtowel off of his head, much to Larxene's chagrin. "The hacked-off leafs are called 'mistletoe'!" Demyx looked around to see if anyone was listening, and sadly, there weren't any. Then he grinned as he came up with the idea to get them hooked onto it. "Then if any two people are caught under it, they'll have to kiss each other!"

There was utter silence. Not the slightest sound was made. There was neither a utensil dropping, nor any intake of breath. Simply utter silence.

"I'm guessing no one would want to kiss a certain someone?" Demyx asked.

"Demyx, for once in your unreasonable life, be smart about these things." Vexen sighed as he sipped coffee. He set the cup down and stared around. "If you didn't notice, more than half of the former Organization is entirely men. The only females are Larxene and Yukina." To Vexen's dismay, his seat was suddenly sent tumbling backwards by an entity with a disturbing air of dread and misery. "May I help you?" While on the floor, he stared upwards to find a woman that looked like she just came from a funeral.

"So I take it that just because I'm not seen or heard from very often…I'm not counted as a female in this building." Lulu bent down as she dropped one of her dolls on top of Vexen's face while he was still down. "Cait Sith, Thundaga." As she said this, the crowned cat doll stood up, and had a well-aimed thunder spell aimed at Vexen's head at point-blank range. Then the doll hopped back into Lulu's arms. "I am existent. Remember that well."

"I'm pretty sure he'll struggle with that." Lexaeus commented at the now-unconscious body of his comrade. "Despite Vexen's intelligence, he doesn't bother to think of factors of what he says more than half the time." He then retreated back to his silence, now chomping down on what lay on the third plate of breakfast.

"So…anyway…" Demyx started off to shrug off Lulu's scary demeanor in the air. "There are many good things to be happy about for Christmas! Like how there are once in a year sales, and how you get presents from other people showing just how special you are to them! For lots of people, it's a pretty special holiday. But…as it turns out, we only have today to buy presents considering that Christmas Eve is tonight."

"Once in a year sales!?" Everyone exclaimed, practically ignoring the other facts Demyx had just stated. All at once, they had all rushed out the door, seemingly not deterred by the freezing temperatures.

"They didn't get the last part, I bet…" Demyx sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "Doesn't anyone bother to listen to me?" He looked back to the table to find Ienzo, looking out the window; his eyes focusing on the snowflakes drifting ever so slowly from the sky to the ground. "Oh, so you're thinking of what to buy? As for me, I don't really think I'll be getting anything this year. But I know I'm getting something for Yuki-chan." Demyx looked at Ienzo, who still had his eyes fixed on the gray sky. "Hey, Ienzo-kun!" Demyx snapped his fingers several times, and finally got Ienzo's attention.

"Hmm—oh, what?" Ienzo looked back at Demyx. "The last part about presents and gifts. I couldn't hear what you said after that." Ienzo directed his view at the table and his half-eaten food. "I'm sorry. It's just…what you said the other night. It got me thinking about Sakuya-san, is all. I'm trying to think about what I could do to make it up to her. If the holiday you're talking about is so great, then Sakuya-san should be able to celebrate it without any problems."

"Ienzo-kun, if you want to make it up to Yuki-chan, then get her a really nice gift." Demyx suggested. "I can't give you any pointers, but just go with whatever you think would be best for her." Demyx noticed that Lulu was still in the confines of the room, so it was a rather odd moment, to be talking so casually while someone was listening. '_I can handle the scary lady being in the room, it's the uneasy feeling of being watched that makes me feeling uncomfortable_.' "Lulu, do you have a special present you want to give to a certain person?" Demyx asked nervously, grabbing this question out of the top of his head. '_Anything to break this tension. It's almost suffocating_.'

"I have my brainless husband, Wakka." Lulu answered as she sighed. "There were so many reasons why I could marry a younger, more attractive man, but I chose to stick with him because of just one." Lulu looked at an unnoticing Ienzo, and smiled at him. "But that one reason was the most important one by far." Lulu directed her icy stare at Demyx, who was startled by the sudden change in countenance. "I'll be getting him a rather inane gift, and then I'll convince him that it would be better than the very few worse gifts I could get him. If that counts as 'special' in its own right, then you can consider that question answered." Like other times, Lulu drifted back into the eerie shadows, leaving both boys stunned.

"That was unnerving, if not downright scary." Ienzo commented, then he noticed Demyx grinning at him. "It's rather obvious that I want to get Sakuya-san something. But…I just don't know what to get her. Should it be a special accessory, or something handmade? I'm not sure if anything I'll think up of would better the situation or worsen it…" Ienzo put his hand to his forehead and groaned. "It's just too confusing for me." '_Like hell it is. Maybe I just need to get out there, buy something expensive, and hope Sakuya-san likes it. But…Sakuya-san's beyond that. It needs to be something…special_.'

"Ienzo-kun, you'll think of something, okay?" Demyx held a thumb out at the surprised Ienzo. "I'm getting Yuki-chan something, but I didn't worry too much about it. You do the same, and don't overwork yourself. It'll make Yuki-chan worry. And you said that for the time being—"

"I'm sorry, but…shut up." Ienzo growled as he angrily set a fist on the table. "Just…stop talking about her." Ienzo looked over in a different direction as he heard footsteps approaching. '_Must be Lulu again, but she seemed as if she would be busy_.' Heavy breathing was heard shortly after, which caught Ienzo off guard as he saw her. "Sakuya-san!"

Yukina took slow steps towards the door, but Ienzo stepped in front of her. Instead of going around of him, Yukina looked up and then she cautiously stepped back as if his presence was a surprise. "Ah…ah…Ienzo…kun…?" Yukina stepped backwards, with Ienzo instinctively moving forward.

"Sakuya-san…you should get some rest. Are you sure you're well enough to get out of bed?" Ienzo reached out his hand, but Yukina backed away. "Sakuya…san?" '_Is she really, afraid of me? If so, then why?_' "Sakuya-san, please. I…I just want to help."

"St-Stay…away…" Yukina gasped. "Stay…away…" She stepped backwards in a quick motion, but in doing so, she fell backwards and landed on the floor.

Ienzo stood in front of her, as Yukina looked up with fear in her eyes. Demyx watched the moment unfold, and to get the moment over with, Demyx walked over to Yukina. Surprisingly, Yukina wasn't scared of him, which saddened Ienzo. Demyx helped Yukina up, who immediately hid behind Demyx's back.

Demyx turned around to talk to the scared girl. "Yuki-chan, Ienzo-kun isn't someone to be afraid of." Demyx placed his hand on her head and looked back to Ienzo, who was in pure shock after looking on at Yukina. "Yuki-chan, if you're truly afraid of him, you should talk to him before you decide to run away from him." '_I don't want to be blamed for this. Apparently, Ienzo doesn't want that either. What's with Yuki-chan_?' "Can you say yes to that?"

Yukina's eyes widened as she ran indiscernible thoughts through her mind. Finally, she looked back to a hopeful Demyx, but disproved what he had anticipated by shaking her head. Yukina tried to walk away once more, but as she was about to fall, Demyx caught her and helped her regain her balance.

"Yuki-chan, I'll help you get back to your room, okay?" Demyx asked. Yukina nodded slowly, and held on to Demyx's arm. Demyx glanced back at Ienzo, and sighed. "Okay Yuki-chan, just take slow steps…"

"Why?" Ienzo asked when he noticed that the both of them were gone. "Why…why…why…?" Ienzo raised his hands, and then he dug his nails into his head as he dropped to the floor. "Sakuya-san…she was supposed to be…alright! She's not supposed to suffer like this! Why does she need to go through so much!? Why do…I have to suffer?"

* * *

"Major emo action." Xigbar commented while walking away from the building, having witnessed it all. "Is there ever going to be a day when Ienzo doesn't break down like a frickin' brat? He's always been like that. It's so immature."

"Like you aren't?" Said Xaldin from behind. "Honestly, you are much worse than Ienzo in almost every way. At least Ienzo's quiet for the most part. You are simply annoying."

"Hey! Hey!" Xigbar shouted. "All I'm sayin' is that the kid should grow up for once!"

"It would be wise for you to do the same." Xaldin answered back.

"You know what? Be quiet." Xigbar trudged off, and left tracks in the white snow. '_I wonder what I'm gettin' myself for Christmas. Well, I might as well get something for the party. There can't be a holiday this big without a party!_' "I got it! I'm getting alcohol!"

"Half of the group consists of minors. You can't possibly bring that." Xaldin objected yet again. "Will there be a day when I can't put up with your antics?"

"Nope!"

* * *

"Alas, the red ranger has turned rogue!" Roxas shouted out loud. "Now the role of the hero shall be filled in by the dashing gold ranger! But to keep the title, he must fell the spiky red rogue or die trying."

"But the gold ranger doesn't even deserve the title of leading hero!" Axel shouted back while pointing his weapon towards his opponent. "Rogue or not, the red ranger shall always be the hero of the story!

"Have at, heathen!"

"Axel! Roxas! Stop playing Sentai with gift-wrap rolls!" Larxene shouted. She continued observing the two as she tried to look for gifts to give Yukina and the others. They kept using phrases that would seem outdated and overused if they weren't cheesy by her standards. They blocked and parried each other's attacks with the mentioned gift-wrapping rolls. '_Would Yuki-chan like a CD? I don't think she likes rock. Maybe she's more into classical? Then for Ienzo, I'd give him an entire collection of love songs. That'll totally piss him off! Then there's_—'

THWACK!

A roll of gift-wrap bouncing off of her head interrupted her. "WHO. THREW. THAT!?" She growled rather loudly.

"I…umm…well, we…uhh…" Roxas cautiously stepped backwards as he dropped the roll. '_Crap! I threw that! But it was only an accident! Even if I explained that it was an unwanted slight of the wrist, she wouldn't stand to listen! I'm going to die! No! I am the gold ranger! I shall not falter underneath the deadly gaze of the lackluster yellow! I shall prevail!_' Roxas stepped back and noticed a pile of large, rubber bouncing balls. "Err…attack of the rubber bouncing balls of doom!" Roxas picked one up and threw it at Larxene.

"You…idiots!" She shot through it with thunder, but considering that the airborne projectile as made out of rubber, it had no effect. "What the hell!?" The projectile collided into her face, knocking her over and infuriated. "If stupidity was snow, you two would be an avalanche by far!" She resorted to throwing knives at what Axel and Roxas were throwing, which proved useful for a few moments…

"Excuse me, I'm going to have to ask you three to leave the store." Asked a black-haired girl with an employee outfit. She unknowingly stepped in the line of fire, but when she turned around, she was able to hit the ball back at Axel's face. "If you want to go there, be my guest!" She turned around to face Larxene once more. "Considering that you have throwing knives, I guess you're experienced in fighting, right?" Larxene nodded, and to this the girl smiled. "Tifa Lockhart at your service! I'm a ninth degree black belt, so I think we're going to get along just fine should we see each other around again. But for now…" Tifa grabbed all three of them with amazing speed and flung them outside. "Please come again!" She shouted as the electric door closed.

"Now look what you guys made me do!" Larxene shouted as she got up from the snow. "I was going to get something for the miserable couple!" Larxene then turned to a different direction and trudged off.

After a few moments of silence, Axel got up and walked in the direction opposite of Larxene. "Feh. Larxene can do her own girly shopping for all I care. For now, I just want to see what I can get for our party."

"We're having a party!?" Roxas asked. "Then what _are _we going to bring?"

"That's why I want to do my own shopping!" Axel shouted. "You have to help me choose something other than sea-salt ice cream. And then I'll probably buy a couple of gifts."

"For who?" Roxas questioned once more.

"Who else?" Axel smirked.

* * *

Saix inhaled icy air through his lungs and rubbed his hands together. '_Damn, this is cold. Why the hell did I go out anyway? I might as well kill some time. It's not as if I have anything to do back at the hotel._' Saix continued through the thin layers of snow on the ground until he saw a girl walk her dog. '_Maybe I can get Yukina a pet as a gift. Oh well, to the pet store_.'

Upon going to the store, he once again found the multitude of rabbits hopping up to the display glass and silently looking up at him. "Well, hello again." He looked down at the rabbits, and when he looked up, he found a teenaged girl and boy looking at him. He brushed it off and silently walked inside.

"Finally, a male who actually goes in of his own accord!" The girl shouted. "And then there's the fact that the rabbits liked him! Squall, you should really learn how to do that! I mean, my dog usually growls at you!"

"I think you forgot why I actually work here in the first place." The boy sighed.

Saix looked at them, and figured out that they were a couple. The pet store was empty, just as Ingus had told him. 'It's all so quiet. It's as if I never left the castle.' He picked up one of the rabbits and observed it. 'Rabbits are cute, but I think Yukina needs something livelier.'

"Oharo!" The girl asked, Saix looked up and found her once again. "So…you like rabbits?" Saix simply shrugged before letting his eyes wander around for the brown-haired boy. "Squall's in the back, feeding the fish." The girl tilted her head to look closer at Saix, which puzzled him. "It seems you're going to be a regular here. I can tell. To get on a first name basis, you can call me Rinoa!"

"Rinoa. I got it." Saix put the rabbit back down with the others. Still, the rabbits seemed intent on catching Saix's every move. '_I think it was cute before, but now it's starting to scare me_.'

"The rabbits usually get as far as they can from anyone who tries to get close to them." Rinoa commented. "I'd say you're a pretty special case."

"Every rabbit I've seen likes me. I don't really know why." Saix replied. "I don't know if I should be happy about this or not."

"Well, it's common superstition that whoever rabbits like unconditionally is actually tied to the moon in some way." Rinoa explained. Saix's eyes widened, an action that caught Rinoa's eye. "So it's true!"

"I take it that you would know why these rabbits are…attracted to me?" Saix asked.

"Well, with the superstition, there's folklore to go along with it." Rinoa explained. "There was a rabbit who was friends with a monkey, a jackal, and an otter. One day, they found an old man dying of hunger, and all four resolved to feed him something. The monkey brought fruit, the otter brought dead fish, and the jackal pilfered a lizard and some milk-curd from a nearby house. The rabbit, however, could only gather grass."

Saix found himself interested in the story despite it only being folklore. Then he wondered about the rabbits that were still looking to him. 'Its so trivial, but at least kills time. That's what I came here to do…right?'

"Determined to give the man something acceptable, the rabbit threw itself into the fire the man built. However, the rabbit did not burn." Rinoa continued. "As it turns out, the old man was really a god. Moved by the rabbit's generosity, he put its figure in the moon for everyone to see." Rinoa, noticing Saix going back to the rabbits sighed, "I don't think you were listening."

"No, no. It was…interesting, to an extent." Saix looked around, and decided that he needed help. "Say, you have a lively pet that would be easy clean up after?"

"I'd say a dog, but I bet you need something easier to handle." Saix nodded in response. "Well, we have a new…animal that we got a month ago. Unfortunately, we don't know just what it is, and no one is willing to take it. If you want to take a look at it, then you should come with me."

"Umm…sure." Saix followed Rinoa to the back, where Squall was feeding the dozens of fish in the numerous fish tanks. "Squall, they each require different food, so make sure you don't mix 'em up!"

"Dammit…" Saix heard Squall hiss. "Of all the jobs out there, why this one?"

"Don't mind him. He's usually grumpy." Rinoa then glanced at Squall once more. "…Unlike your dad, who is A LOT livelier than you are!"

"Laguna isn't lively!" Squall growled as he cracked the fish food container. "He's just loud!"

"Says you." Rinoa pouted. "Now, here we go." She opened a door, and out popped an…animal.

"Wait a minute." Saix bent down to take a look at the bird-looking creature. "Yup. It's definitely that chocobo." In response, the mentioned chocobo tackled Saix in gratitude.

"Did you hear that Squall? It's called a chocobo!" Rinoa cheered.

"I heard…" Squall took a stepstool and proceeded to feed the higher fish tanks.

"Considering that greeting, I don't think—"

"I'm taking him." Saix answered.

After a rather unsteady attempt to pay for him and get him on a leash, Saix was able to walk out of the pet store feeling…unaccomplished. '_He was such a hassle the first time. Now we have to deal with him for a second time. At least those two don't know that. Hopefully this will be enough to make her happy._'

* * *

"Nii-san…don't leave…" Yukina exhaled. "Don't leave…" She held up her hand, and Demyx grasped her hands gently.

"Yuki-chan, you're going to be okay." Demyx assured her. "Try to rest up, and then you'll be okay. You need to take it easy." Demyx kept Yukina's hand in both of his while he stared out the window. '_Yuki-chan…you're supposed to be happy, and cheery, and…smiling. Why can't you act like that? When you're looking at me with eyes like those…it's as if you're screaming in pain. Those eyes are hard to look at. It's hard to just keep looking at you because_—"

"Nii-san…can you…play for me?" Yukina asked. "I…want to listen."

"O-Okay…" '_It's because you're so pitiful that it's hard to keep looking at you._ _I've apologized, but…_' Demyx let go of Yukina's hand, summoned his sitar, and he looked one last time at Yukina.

"Nii-san…can you play?" Yukina asked. "I would…like it a lot." Yukina smiled, but…

'_That's not Yuki-chan's real smile. Yuki-chan's real smile seems so vibrant and bright. Her smile now…it's still full of desperation and anguish. This…really sucks. Is this what it's like to feel guilty? Now I'm not sure if I really deserve feeling anything. Everything's falling on me._' Demyx played on his sitar, but glanced at Yuki in between every other measure. Yukina closed her eyes, and seemed to be listening intently on the music brought up by the strings Demyx strummed so skillfully. '_Should I delay it? Should I tell her? She just seems at peace. Damn, this sucks_.' Demyx stopped playing.

"Nii-san?" Yukina asked. "Can you continue…?" Yukina did her best to smile, but instead of encouraging Demyx to continue, it happened to give the opposite effect.

"Yuki-chan…I…I'm your nii-san, but…" Demyx's eyes started to swell with tears, but as much as he tried to hide it, he couldn't stifle his anguish. "You…you need…you need to learn how to rely on other people." '_I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. I'm so very sorry. But you need to hear this_.' "I…can't stay by your side forever. This hurts but…if you can't live life on your own, then…your life will suck even more!"

"You're…leaving me?" Yukina asked.

"I can't be the only one you have to rely on." Demyx closed his eyes and thought about the others. "There are others that you would be able to rely on."

"But…you can't leave!" Yukina shouted. "I can't have…everyone leaving me!" She instantly grabbed Demyx's wrist, but at the same time she was gripping his wrist so tightly that Demyx was starting to wince in pain. "You…just can't leave me like this! I…I can't stand this pain! Not again!"

Demyx closed his eyes and tried not to focus on the pain. '_That's why. That's why. To think…that's all that she's afraid of. At least…it's not so hard to look at her anymore. She's being so pitiful right now, but she's scared. I'm used to that feeling of abandonment. I know I'll go through that feeling of rejection all my life. But…Yuki-chan is acknowledging that she'll go through nothing but that sting of rejection. Now I know. Whenever she was smiling at us…on the inside…she was wondering if we were going to abandon her._'

"Yuki-chan." Demyx cupped Yukina's cheek with his hand. "There's still so much you have to learn." He stroked away Yukina's tears, prompting her to loosen her grip.

"What…?" She immediately withdrew her hand, but Demyx lowered it down and held it gently while giving her a warm smile. '_What is nii-san trying to explain_?'

"The world…isn't filled with nothing but warm people." Demyx took a slightly harder grip to prevent Yukina from shutting the former out. "That much is true, but…kindness isn't so scarce either." Demyx stared out the window to the snow. How it was all falling so slowly and gently. "It's okay to think that you'll be hurt, and…it feels good to think that you'll actually receive warm moments filled with happiness. But…being hurt…being rejected…it's the only way we learn. It's the only way we change and grow. Maybe…you forgot that."

"Nii-san…I…probably did."

* * *

Unknown to Yukina and Demyx, Ienzo was just outside the room, hearing the entire conversation. '_I'm so stupid. I'm such an idiot. I know that Sakuya-san was hurting, but…I was too selfish to do anything about it. And then there's Demyx. I told him off last night, but what am I doing? This really sucks._'

"Stop being so damn emo, godammit!" Larxene suddenly appeared and hit Ienzo hard on the head.

"Larxene-san!" Ienzo exclaimed. "I take it that you're finished with shopping?"

"Yeah." Larxene sighed. "Axel and Roxas kept following me because 'they had nowhere to go.' At almost every store, they played Sentai and ended up kicking us all out. It was a bitch trying to get away from them. Hey, wait a—" Larxene grabbed Ienzo's collar and hit him on the head once more. "No subtle changing of subjects!"

"I guess you're right…" Ienzo sighed. "I'm sorry."

Larxene stared at him while Ienzo bowed. "Dammit! I'm not the one who you should be apologizing to!"

"What—!?" Ienzo was held up by his collar and was struggling to keep his feet on the floor.

"You're a real idiot, you know that!?" Larxene shouted. "Stop being nice to everyone but yourself! Yuki's been worried!"

"S-Sakuya-san?" Ienzo asked. "She's been worrying?"

"She worries about everyone, but the one she's really concerned about is YOU!" Larxene continued shouting. " Whenever you're around, she manages to keep smiling. With the rest of us, she starts up conversations of you whenever you're not around! No one can actually keep her happy-go-frickin'-lucky! Am I even getting anything through your thick as hell skull!?"

Ienzo looked down at the floor, going over what Larxene had told him. 'Now that she's mentioned it, Sakuya-san…she really is happy whenever I'm around. But…should I…be happy about this? I'm just…being held back by something. By what?'

"You have a heart. Use it right." Larxene let go of Ienzo and turned her head as soon as she heard the door creak open.

"I have the feeling that I'll be beat up if I ask what happened." Demyx commented as he scratched his head. "Might as well get ready for the party! The others are already helping! Raku-chan, you wanna help?"

"Who the—fine." Larxene turned around and saw Ienzo leaning against the wall. "Hurry up and say it to her already. She isn't the only person waiting." She smirked and ran downstairs with Demyx. "Dem, how the hell did you convince them to go along with the Christmas idea of yours?"

"As it turns out, most of the others have celebrated Christmas back in their homeworlds and just forgot when I told them about it this morning! So now we get to have a great big party!" Demyx jumped down to the last step of the stairs and began spinning. So, just for tonight, we have a real party!"

"A party…" Larxene sighed. "That means people getting drunk and we have to clean up after it. Oh boy…"

* * *

"My head hurts…" Vexen groaned as he got up from the couch. "Frickin' witch…" He hissed, referring to Lulu. "How come I'm so hungry?"

"You ate breakfast but you skipped out on lunch." Xaldin answered as set something on the table. "Hurry up and help the others get ready for the party."

"Party? What—oh…" Vexen smirked. "I can hardly remember the last time we had a Christmas party. Those were 'good' times."

"All I can remember is the explosion that was made because of Xigbar's attempt to cook something." Xaldin answered. "As I said before, hurry up and help out."

"Fine, fine." Vexen got up, but then found himself not knowing what to do. "Considering I was knocked out by that witch's possessed doll, what do I do? Hang up mistletoe?"

"That was Xigbar and he got done with that a long time ago…"

"He only put the mistletoe in the _lobby_, right?"

* * *

Ienzo took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. "Sakuya-san? You there?" When he didn't hear a response, he tried letting himself in. Unfortunately, the door was apparently locked. "Sakuya-san, can you let me in?"

"My name isn't just Sakuya-san." Ienzo heard Yukina from the other side of the door. "Go away and come back when you learn what my name is." '_Why is he here? Now of all times_?'

"Yukina-san…" Ienzo exhaled. "I'm…sorry for not being there for you." '_What the HELL do I do now? If I had any previous memories about this sort of thing, I want them back NOW_!' Trying to hide the fact that he was close to having a panic attack, he took a deep breath and leaned his arm against the door. "Yukina-san, I'm…sorry for not realizing sooner, that you were hurting. I want to be able to help…"

"But…you'll leave me. If I complain about it…you'll leave me." Yukina doubted from the other side of the door. '_Of course he'll do that. Everyone leaves. Even nii-san…_' "You'll leave…"

"Yukina-san…" Ienzo sighed in exasperation. "Will you stop being so damn cynical about this and listen to what I have to say?"

"Listen…to what?" Yukina hesitantly asked.

"Listen…to me." Ienzo answered. "All this time, you've been anticipating when we would leave you. But…all we really want is that…we want to stay with you."

"But—out there! Even if you guys promise that, there's still a chance that I'll be left behind! Everyone beyond this building! I don't want that…"

"It's just as nii-san said. You may get hurt, but there are others who help you heal those wounds."

Ienzo heard the door unlock, and saw Yukina standing there, with tears streaming down her face. He smiled and held her close in a warm embrace.

"Believe me. Good times end, but so do bad times. You need to remember all of this." Ienzo closed his eyes. "Live your life out, not as someone who will be rejected, but…as someone who would be accepted by others. You can do that, can't you?"

"I will, if…" Yukina looked up into Ienzo's awaiting eyes. '_His eyes…they're like…looking at the sky. Why am I feeling like this? It's just like the one other time, but…different. I know that…_' "…You're with me every step of the way."

"I will."

'_Initially, I was scared. I never thought that I would deserve someone so…kind and warm…like Ienzo-kun. The others too. They've been there, and waiting. All this time…when I was waiting for them to reject me, I was really afraid of them accepting me. Now, Ienzo-kun…he's accepted me. It feels nice_.'

They were kept in each other's arms, and they didn't care how much time they spent standing there. All that seemed to matter was the fact that they were together.

Little did they know that they were being watched…

"HURRY UP AND KISS GODAMMIT!" Shouted Xigbar from the end of the hallway.

"Wh-Who was that!?" Yukina shouted hysterically.

"Damn it, Xigbar!" Ienzo yelled. 'Wait, he said…' Ienzo looked up at the door's frame and saw that a mistletoe was hanging, on top of the both of them. "Well, umm…Yukina-san—"

Ienzo was stopped by a kiss that was planted on his cheek. "Arigato, Ienzo-kun." Yukina smiled. "Let's just…go downstairs and party with the others, okay?"

"Umm…sure." Ienzo was turning redder with each passing second he wallowed on that one moment. "Yukina-san…kissed me."

"Well, DUH!!" Xigbar shouted as a fist was landed on Ienzo's head. "That's what you're supposed to do underneath the mistletoe. I was expecting something else, but I guess that's enough."

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU MEAN BY 'EXPECTING SOMETHING ELSE!?'" Ienzo shouted angrily.

"Wow. Ienzo shouted in all capital letters. That's rare." Xigbar seized the back of Ienzo's shirt and dragged him downstairs. "Look, there's a party. Have fun, dammit!"

* * *

"Sugoi!" Yukina shouted as soon as she got downstairs. "How did you guys decorate so quickly?"

"YUKI!!" Shouted Larxene. "My adorable idiot of a little sister is okay!" Larxene hugged Yukina, who smiled. "Now, where's your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend!?" Yukina exclaimed. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Yukina tried to deny it, but everyone else smirked. "Oh! There's a lot of presents under the tree!"

"We have to hurry up and eat so we can open the stupid presents!" Axel shouted as he grabbed Yukina's long white hair and pulled her back. "You may be okay and all, but…that doesn't earn you any special treatment from me."

"Whatever you say Axel-kun!" Yukina smiled. "I'm pretty sure the food would be great. Besides, wouldn't you like to eat too? The others worked hard on it, so I bet they want some feedback on how well they did."

"Umm…fine." Axel trudged back to the table, with his face getting a little red. "Just…stop being so cute. It's…a little annoying."

"Aku-chan has fallen victim to Yuki-chan's cuteness and smile!" Demyx narrated. "But that's bad! Yuki-chan has someone else to fall in love with!" After being punched by Axel, he responded with, "Aku-chan's being mean! He hit me!"

'_As I stood there, watching everyone. I realized that…I had a family. The past several days were hard, and…anyone would wish for something better. But…nii-san and…Ienzo-kun taught me important things today. I was too indulged in my sadness to really make this Christmas memorable. Next year, it'll be much better_.'

"Yukina-san?" Ienzo asked. "Why are you crying?" Ienzo had observed her actions when Xigbar brought him downstairs. She was standing there and watching everyone else. '_I want her to stop doing that_, _because it makes her look as if she hasn't learned a thing_.'

"Oh! Ienzo-kun! I was…crying?" Yukina asked. Ienzo slowly swiped a finger across her face, to have Yukina focus her eyes on a single tear. "So…I was. I'm just…really happy. Everyone is here, celebrating Christmas. It's even better that…I get to spend it with you."

"EH!?" Ienzo stepped back clumsily, and nearly tripped on someone's foot. "I mean, I'm not much! You needed confidence, so I gave it. That's it! I can't really make much of a difference! Demyx-san was there to actually talk to you right!? So he must've done something too! Then—wait…dammit!" Ienzo started shaking his head back and forth violently while reflecting on what he had just said. 'I was so busy defending myself that I actually told Sakuya-san that I eavesdropped on the conversation! I'm such an IDIOT!'

"Ienzo-kun…don't tell me…" Yukina closed the space between them and stared at Ienzo right in his eyes, much to his surprise. "You like how nii-san plays his instrument so well too?"

"No, I—OF COURSE!!" Ienzo shouted to cover up his tracks. "He…plays skillfully, and he…his instrument looks interesting and unique!" '_Whatever the hell it is, because I could only hear it_…'

"I'm glad you like nii-san's music!" Yukina dismissed her previous thoughts and continued the conversation. Ienzo sighed in relief. "Hey, do you want to open presents with me?" Yukina expected an answer like, 'Of course!', or 'You can pick the first one!' Instead, she saw Ienzo sink to the floor and writhe in mental stress. "I-Ienzo-kun?"

"Everything's fine…" Ienzo swept off his fears and swallowed them, which anyone else would consider too big to swallow.

After letting everyone else gather around the small and artificial tree that Marluxia bought, they all went in 'number' order. Everyone received at least one gift, usually a sweater or scarf of their favorite color that were several sizes too big. Not surprisingly, Ienzo and Yukina had received the most presents. Ienzo was given nothing but books, save for a romance CD from Larxene. Yukina, on the other hand, had much more variety. They ranged from CDs, to music players, pajamas, accessories, manga, and cookbooks.

"Saix-sama…is this your gift?" Yukina asked as Saix pushed a rather large box in front of her as her gift. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or distressed at how much this could've cost…"

"Well…he's your problem now." Saix sighed as he swept a hand through his hair. "Make sure you keep him well fed and in open space."

"It's a pet!" Yukina shouted. "I wonder what kind it is!" She unwrapped the box and flipped the lid open. "KAWAIIII!!!" She yelled.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ienzo asked. Then he smacked himself when he suddenly realized that it meant 'cute'. He peered into the box, and the…animal inside ended up jumping onto the both of them. "Saix-san…what the hell is this thing?"

"It's return of Kimaru, the chicken ostrich hybrid creature thing!" Demyx shouted out loud.

"If you remember correctly, Kimaru is a chocobo." Saix answered. "I hope you treat him well, because for the short ordeal of three hours, I sure as hell didn't."

"Thank you, Saix-sama!" Yukina smiled with eyes that seemed to glow. "I promise I'll take great care of him! I love him already!"

Saix's eyes widened as he focused on Yukina's smile, and as a result he turned a light shade of pink, similar to how Axel reacted earlier. "I'm…glad you like him." He looked away, and tried to take a deep breath. Compared to a few others, he was handling Yukina's cuteness rather well.

"KWEEEH!" Yukina looked back to arms, and found that Kimaru had left her arms and had suddenly started fighting Xigbar for a bottle of wine.

In the end, Kimaru took the bottle and handed it to Ienzo.

"Um…you want me to actually drink this?" Ienzo asked the chocobo. Kimaru nodded his head quickly. "I'm underage, but…you're insisting." Ienzo poured himself a small glass, and drank it down, much to everyone's surprise. For a few moments, Ienzo stayed silent.

"Ienzo-kun…are you o—kay…" Yukina was silenced as she felt Ienzo lean over onto her shoulder. "I take it that you're asleep." Yukina smiled and positioned herself so that the both of them could rest comfortably.

"Guys! Away! Away! Couple moment!" Roxas shooed the others away while they stayed isolated on the other side of the lobby.

'_It wasn't necessary for them to leave, but…I guess it's better that way_.' Yukina smiled, but then she herself with the urge to close her eyes and sleep. She looked one last time at the others and gave a sigh of contentment. "Merry Christmas, Ienzo…kun…"

* * *

((I have sacrificed a few hours of sleep to get this on time, but I think that alone has messed up the chapter. It'll just have to stick. Hopefully you guys are okay with it. It is REALLY late, (11:45 PM!!) and you can imagine how sleepy I am. If you can't, I'm fine with it. I'm really sorry if this chapter wasn't how you expected it to be. But…I did the best I could with a limited amount of time on my hands. Merry Christmas! Or, if you get this late, Merry (late) Christmas and Happy New Year!))


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Yukina was carefully washing dishes, making sure that each dish was sparkling clean. '_To think that everyone had voted for it to be Saix-sama's turn again. It seems he's getting popular around the building! But maybe it's because they all want him to break half the dishes again…_' She smiled at the thought and dried her current plate. _'Everyone seems happy, but there's still one more person that's supposed to be with everyone. I really hope that I get to meet him soon. Then there's that of my New Year's resolution…_'

"Yuki-chan!" Demyx shouted as he hugged Yukina from behind. "Hey, you didn't jump straight out of your socks this time! I guess I'm either getting bland in my greetings, or you're getting used to them." Demyx took the plate out of Yukina's hand and grabbed an extra sponge. "I'll help you out! I have nothing better to do anyway!"

Yukina nodded. "Thanks for the help, Demi-kun!" She decided that she would be drying the dishes whenever Demyx was around. "It's kind of belated, but I don't think that I've actually seen—much less talk with—you ever since Christmas. So, I've actually wanted to ask you something." Yukina saw that Demyx looked her way, to show that he was awaiting her question. "Well, I've been wondering what your New Year's resolution is."

"My…New Year's Resolution?" Demyx repeated, eyes widening. "Well, I've thought about what I want to do this year. That would be enough, right?" Demyx received a nod in response. "I've decided that…I want to be less of a bother to everyone, and be of more help."

"Demi-kun…you're already being of help!" Yukina objected, but Demyx shook his head at her attempt. "Well…why did you think of that resolution?"

"I know I'm annoying to everyone whenever I open my big mouth," Demyx replied solemnly. "Everyone seems to be…I dunno, kind of different when I enter a room." He handed Yukina another plate before continuing, making sure that they were still washing the dishes while talking. "Maybe…I want to be noticed as someone that can help." Demyx chuckled, "Now that I think about it, I think I was being immature about these kinds of things when you weren't around. So, I have to say…" Demyx paused, and waited for Yukina to turn to him. "Well, I wanted to say 'Thank you.'"

"Demi-kun…" Yukina sighed. "Don't worry, you're starting here. Maybe your reason of being a little…immature in the first place is…that you wanted to be noticed. Period." Yukina looked down at the small lake of soapy water and Demyx did the same. "We all want to be noticed, and maybe you were denied something when you were…whole. But, I think that everyone's long journey will somehow end here. Not today, not tomorrow…but someday soon."

Demyx exhaled, out of an unknown reason. "Hey, Yuki-chan, we were talking about my resolution, so why don't we talk about yours?"

"My resolution? That's easy!" Yukina exclaimed, accidentally letting a dry plate slip out of her hands and splashing the both of them. "Ha ha…it'll dry. Okay…my resolution is to protect myself better. I guess my reasons are the same as yours. Except…I want to become less of a burden to everyone. I'm planning on joining the kendo club at school."

Demyx dropped his plate, but onto the floor instead of the sink. "It's—It's because of me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But…it wasn't my fault!"

"Demi-kun!" Yukina shouted. "That's exactly why I decided! I don't want you to be so guilty of what you did. You were forced to do it. I understand. Maybe you should stop being so immature about everything! It's bad to blame everything on everyone, but it's also bad to keep blaming yourself! It's been nearly two months—let it go already!"

They both stood silent after Yukina's sudden outburst. However, Yukina stood back and bowed. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to…stop."

Demyx picked up the large pieces of the broken plate and answered, "Yukina, it's almost lunchtime, so you might as well go buy yourself something to eat. Don't worry, I won't break another dish."

Yukina was dumbstruck after that, but decided to follow Demyx's instructions and go out for lunch. It was a rather odd conversation compared to others. She quickly replaced her apron with a warm jacket and dashed down to the lobby. '_Demi-kun is being rather…odd. All week he seemed to be having fun with the others, but at the same time, he wouldn't show that spirited smile of his. Perhaps he's becoming more and more like Ienzo-kun._'

She looked around the area, and saw that the others were taking advantage of the drowsy—and somewhat gloomy—snow day by reading and curling up near the fireplace, or simply sleeping near the heater. Yukina made a mental note to be as quiet as possible. '_They're all as silent as Ienzo_…' She thought. '_Speaking of which, ever since Christmas, I've been seeing him much less_._ Oh no! Ever since I had my mental breakdown, he's silent whenever I'm around! Maybe it's my fault! No, no…of course it's my fault! And he's not okay with it!'_

Xigbar looked up from his magazine and observed Yukina. 'Why is she down here on such an ordinary day?' He wondered. Yukina walked outside and somehow jumped up in surprise. 'Okay, that's always like her. Always jumping up and being surprised about everything.' Then his eye widened as he saw Ienzo come into his line of view, talking to Yukina. 'This I gotta see…' Xigbar jumped up towards the ceiling and slowly made his way towards the door to listen in on the conversation.

"Ienzo-kun…I was just thinking that I should…be by myself for today." Yukina turned around, so as to hide her clearly apparent blush. "It's just lunch. I'll be back in…two hours tops."

"Umm…okay. Whatever you say, Sakuya-san…" Ienzo replied. "So…I'll see you later, then…"

'Oooohhh!!' Xigbar exclaimed mentally. 'Is this the part where the girl dumps the guy?'

Ienzo watched as Yukina walked away from his sight. Sighing, he picked up a clump of snow, and molded it into a snowball. He took a deep breath and threw it at Xigbar's face that was sticking out of the doorway. "Look, I knew you were there. Your scent is kind of hard to forget, what with your horrible account of hygiene."

"Hey, did she dump you?" Xigbar asked, not paying any mind to the snow dripping off of his face. After hearing silence, he jumped down to the floor and ruffled up Ienzo's hair.

"She didn't dump me, but…" Ienzo stared down at the snow, knowing that there was somehow a way that something was wrong. "…I get the feeling that—despite her saying so—she might not want to be alone."

* * *

Larxene watched carefully as Yukina had been conversing with Ienzo, and the latter then conversing with Xigbar. She sighed in depression, "This little soap opera needs some speed bumps."

"Do you really think that they need problems now that they've just solved one?" Axel inquired as he strode into the room. '_Gee, if looks could kill, I would've been dead ages ago with Larxene around_.' Axel smiled sarcastically at the thought. "Do you think that they actually need speed bumps, or do you just want it to happen?"

"Like I need a lecture from a guy like you." Larxene glared angrily at the pyro. "It's not like you've done anything—good or bad—to their relationship. It's fun to watch and all, but I think that there needs to be something more added into the mix." '_Bastard. Coming into my room for no apparent reason and eavesdropping on me. Does that piece of crap red porcupine have any moral value whatsoever? He's more annoying than Demyx when given the chance. Heh. Good thing that chance rarely comes along.'_

"Why are you interested in that relationship?" Axel asked, not caring if it was actually prying. "Is it because you're the white-haired maiden's 'big sister'? Or is it just for the hell of it? Either way, you've got crappy reasons."

"WHAT I DO IS MY OWN GODDAMN BUSINESS!!" Larxene shouted more than angrily.

Frustrated, she aimed a kick right at Axel's face, but he caught her foot with a firm grip before impact and aimed at the blonde's own with his spiked weapon while she was rendered helpless. "Look, you start bitching over the tiniest little things. Maybe you should actually do something instead of watching and waiting around for something to happen. I'm just not doing anything because I have my own agenda."

Axel took a step forward, but Larxene had a knife aimed at his face. Smirking, he let go of Larxene's leg and his weapon faded away from his hand, as a means of making temporary peace.

"Like I said before, I don't need you lecturing off to me!" Larxene shouted in a slightly triumphant manner. "You have ten seconds to get out of my room before I give you a static shock so powerful that you won't be able to feel _anything_ in a week."

"I got it. I got it…" Axel sighed as he walked away. "I didn't want to start up a fight. But you were practically asking for it." Larxene growled in response, which made Axel turn his head to face Larxene. "You might want to think about what I said."

As soon as Axel closed the door, eight knives thrown by Larxene appeared on the door's surface. "Bastard…"

* * *

Yukina walked into the district, and stared at the café. '_I was using lunch as an excuse, but I ate before watching the dishes. Maybe an afternoon snack wouldn't hurt._' Then she stared at a paper that was taped onto the glass door. '_It says that they won't be back for fifteen minutes. I'll just kill time!_' She raised her hands above her head, but put them back down. '_How would I do that?_'

She sat down on a bench in the empty park nearby. '_It really is as quiet and empty as Saix-sama described it._' She looked around, seeing only at least ten other people in her sight. _'It's so…eerie! How did Saix-sama stand this?_' She shook her head around, but in her frenzy, she saw a person on the bench a few yards away.

To her, the person seemed…'_Lonely. Why is he just…sitting there? Maybe he's trying to kill time? But he seems different. I'll ask him!_' Yukina stood up, but sat down again. '_But he's a stranger. The others constantly remind me not to talk to strangers, but with this person…It doesn't really count if I'm the one that talks to him, right?_'

He sat there, not reacting in the slightest. He barely even blinked as he stared at the clean-slated ground. Meaningless to say, he barely noticed a certain white-haired girl sit beside him.

"Hello!" Yukina greeted, but to no avail. "I'm Yukina Sakuya, and you are…?" She continued, even without him responding. "It sure is cold out today, isn't it? I think that the snow is really pretty, but other people think otherwise." Yukina looked over to the man on her left, who turned his head the other way. Getting a flicker of hope, she decided to go on. "The color of white symbolizes the fact that there are a multitude of possibilities as there are different colors. With the snow appearing in the beginning of the year, it symbolizes how many different directions your year could go for you. How about you? Is your year going well for you so far?"

The man turned to face her, which made Yukina widen her eyes in anticipation for what he had to say. But the man was not satisfied with her attempts at starting a conversation. "Why the hell do you give a damn about me? What do you gain out of talking to me?"

"Why…?" Yukina repeated. '_I was half-expecting for him not to actually do anything at all! This is amazing! Maybe…getting him to open up wouldn't be such a bad idea…_' She took a deep breath before answering his questions. "I just thought that maybe you were lonely…and I thought that you we would both benefit from having a new friend."

"What are you talking about?" The man asked angrily as he stood up from his seat. "I wasn't lonely. Just because someone looks lonely, you use that as an excuse to start up a conversation for no good reason. And I don't need any friends. They're just extra baggage that you don't need. In addition, they're never there for you when you need it. Even if they claim to be loyal…you know in the back of your head that they'll simply abandon you."

"Well…help comes in different forms, but they almost always come in the form of friends." Yukina explained.

"Wha—What kind of shit are you trying to pull? Are you talking to a pre-schooler? Those words don't mean a thing to someone like me. Anyone who thinks that helping a stranger would do any good for them is a fool." He stopped, feeling triumphant enough. He was expecting her to break down in tears, but he received a smile instead.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Yukina asked. "Maybe…things would change if we're friends. Because…what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? The painful experiences of both yesterday and today would become tomorrow's strength. And…while friends may let you down or even abandon you, there are those that would care about you. Solitude is a good place to visit, but…it's a bad place to stay."

He stood there, silent and in disbelief of what Yukina was saying to him.

"Tell you what, you can meet me here in…" Yukina thought about it, and then she scratched her head. "Well, I don't know when we should meet up. I know, how about in 28 hours? That's after school, so you don't have to worry about any schedule blocks. I guess…I'll see you then!"

She looked at her watch to make sure that the café was open and then dashed off. 'I think…that that could have gone better. But I'm okay with it.' She looked back towards the mysterious unnamed man, and she waved when he was looking at her. His eyes widened briefly before he turned his head away. 'Well, maybe our meetings will help improve on that…'

* * *

Ienzo was having his own lunch with three others at a small table, given that Yukina wasn't back yet. However, Ienzo felt something tugging at the back of his head, telling him something. "I…I have to find Sakuya-san," he told himself. He stood up from the table, only to have Demyx hold his wrist.

"Calm down, Ienzo-chan." Demyx advised him. "Me and Yuki-chan were washing dishes earlier, and then she left just to have some lunch. She's a good girl that can take care of herself." Demyx was rather calm about this, rather than being energetic as he usually was. Despite this he was smiling, which made for a rather…unnerving thought.

"It's people like you that she can't defend herself from." Ienzo explained, hitting Demyx's ego rather hard. "The scent I picked up is that of a nobody, and it's of someone I haven't met before. Think about it. You've said that there are twelve of you that don't have hearts, and I've met only eleven of you. Use logic."

Xigbar thought about it for a few seconds. '_There's me, dude with the lances, the smartass, the silent mountain, berserker, red porcupine, annoying blonde, cheating gambler, floral bastard, angry girl, and underheight blond. Anyone else I'm missing_?' Xigbar then shouted, "It's someone that we don't know!"

Saix's eyes widened as he knew exactly who it was. "Ienzo, I'm coming with you."

"At least someone understands the situation." Ienzo scoffed before shook Demyx's hand away. "Let's go."

As soon as they disappeared, Demyx sighed in what people would usually take as relief. "Hey, Xig-tan, you think that I could be something bigger than an annoyance or bother?" Demyx then added in, "Let's be serious—without any sarcastic answers or anything like that."

"Well," Xigbar started. "It's going to take a long time for you to get there, because you seem to do practically nothing but be a hindrance to everyone." Xigbar smirked as he saw Demyx's blank expression. "Hey, you told me to be serious. This is as serious as I'm going to get."

"I see…" Demyx then laughed, "Look's like I'm not going to get there at all! I'm just going to be a hindrance to everyone including myself!"

* * *

Yukina stared in disbelief at the small number of customers actually in the café: one, which included herself. "Wow, Saix-sama wasn't kidding when he said that it was practically deserted…" Then she noticed a large basket of rabbit plushies placed on the counter. '_Oh yeah, he also said that this is where he got me the Kawaii Kawaii Fuwa-Fuwa Usa-chan plushie. I wonder what Onee-chan did with it…_' She took a seat on the nearest table, only to have it suddenly pulled out from beneath her.

"Tidus! Why'd you have to do that!?" Yuna exclaimed as she gave him a good whack on the head. "I know we have to get our café going again, but we don't have to seat our customers!"

"I thought it would be good!" Tidus shouted as he rubbed the bruise on the back of his head. "It's just that I thought about it too late…"

Yukina seated herself just fine and looked at the menu. '_These two are just like Onee-chan and Axel-kun back home. Saix is so accurate about the descriptions on this place…_' When she put down her menu, she saw a face that was a mere inches in front of her.

"Have any idea what you would like to order…?" Ingus asked lazily. He saw Yukina's petrified look and went back to standing up straight. "I'd been waiting for a customer to tell me that I'm a horrible waiter, so if you do that, I'll be able to have a good reason to quit, so Refia will get off my case."

"Umm…I don't think you're a bad waiter at all!" Yukina assumed, much to Ingus' annoyance.

"What did you do to make him listen…?" Ingus asked in the same manner.

"Make…who?" Yukina asked in response to Ingus' own question.

"That guy." Ingus pointed straight out the glass doors to where the unnamed man was sitting. Just as Yukina found him, he was sitting on the bench in the snow, not even caring how much snow was piling on top of his shoulders. "Could it be that you know him from somewhere?"

Yukina looked at the man outside, and shook her head. "I haven't met him from anywhere before. I'll admit, his hair would look like what you would see on a cosplayer, but I don't think I've seen him before in my life."

"Well, he's actually been there since New Year's. At night, he'd go somewhere but the next morning. The four of us: Refia, Tidus, Yuna, and me. We would all find him there the moment we open up the café." Yukina's eyed drifted between Ingus and the man on the bench while Ingus was explaining, trying to piece together what he was telling her. "I've made several attempts for him to just get a cup of coffee, but all of them failed. So how did you, an everyday high-schooler girl, end up getting through to him?"

"I-I don't—"

"Ingus! Straighten up! We've got more customers…" Refia shouted to get their attention, much to both Ingus' and Yukina's surprise. "And _boy_ do they look hungry! Or is it more of tired…?"

Ingus made a look at Yukina, giving the feeling of saying, '_You should finish up this conversation with someone more important than me._'

Yukina turned around and saw that the _customers _were none other than Saix and Ienzo, to which Yukina was surprised of the latter. Yukina observed that they were both panting and a little tired as Refia described. '_I know that people like Saix-sama have the ability to make portals, so if Saix-sama could do that, then why are they both exhausted?_' Able to easily piece together that they were looking for her, she waved at them to signal that she was alright. "Saix-sama! Ienzo-kun! I'm okay! You can relax and have some tea with me!" She grew embarrassed as they both collapsed onto the floor.

"It's…YOU!!" Ingus exclaimed as he pointed at Saix. "Why are you here again!? Do you want to mock me once more!?"

"No, no! They're my friends!" Yukina said as she waved her arms around frantically. She got out of her seat and sat on the floor while taking a closer look at the both of them.

"Yukina-sama's…alright…" Saix panted as he rolled on his back. "Are…you satisfied…?"

"More…than…that…" Ienzo did the same and rolled on his back, and saw Yukina leaning over him. He started to blush, to Yukina's surprise.

"Ienzo-kun…whenever you're around, you start getting a little red in the face. Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. "It's been cold, so I'd like it if you took better care of yourself."

"I'm…fine!" Ienzo shouted as he bolted upright. Then he stood up and fanned himself with his hand. "You…don't have to worry…about a thing!" He held an awkward smile upon his face, leading Yukina to awkwardly smile back at the gesture.

"Okay, you two…" Refia started, which made everyone turn to look at her. "The stupid manager is making us attire in skirts in the middle of winter! It would be nice if you actually closed the door to stop letting the cold in!"

"Gomenasaiiiiiii!!" Yukina shouted…nervously. She quickly dragged Saix's legs away from the doorway and quickly shut the glass doors. "Well, I apologize for being so inconsiderate about that. I thought that you were comfortable where you are…considering all the heaters."

"Yes, but the heaters can't exactly warm the room to the point where it's invincible against any cold wind." Yuna explained. "Now that I think about it, if we had a lot of customers, we'd be ice cubes by now!"

"That's nothing!" Tidus shouted as he raised a fist in the air. "I'm practically invincible against the cold! I've climbed Fuji and back, enduring blistering cold! You three are all sissies!"

"'Sissies' doesn't sound like a word someone of your age would use." Saix commented.

* * *

The three spent the next hour chatting with their waiters and waitresses, having a good time, something that felt…normal. To Ienzo, Saix, and Yukina it had felt everything but. The three of them were used to their own sort of agenda. Saix's was usually taking afternoon naps and waiting for the moon to come up, which was the time when he would think. He would just think about general topics, which most of the other's considered a waste of time. Ienzo's life up until now had consisted of reading, reading, and reading, along with the occasional conversation with the others during meals or the specific ones with Yukina in them, to which he seemed to act…differently. Yukina's simple daily schedule was that of doing most of the chores around the complex seeing as most of the rooms she went by were usually free of cleanliness. Now, they were doing something that seemed to be common or simple or at least regular interaction with others. Fortunately or not, Yukina was the only one that seemed to notice how things were going for them at this moment.

"Sakuya-san…" Ienzo said suddenly to catch her attention. Yukina's head bolted up at the mention of her name, and she looked curiously at Ienzo. "I've been wondering…how come you space out a lot?"

"Well…" Yukina scratched her head to think. '_Think! Think! How did your unsocial skills actually get you into this kind of situation? It was so sudden_!' "Well, I have a lot on my mind." '_Great! Now think of a follow-up!_' She looked at Saix, in one of those roundabout ways when you look around the room, hoping for an answer to show up on its own. "I was wondering why you and Saix-sama were here. Ienzo-kun, you don't seem like the person to have sweets on your favorite foods list."

"Maybe one of them would like to have a date with you!" Refia suggested sarcastically. "They're both kind of cool-looking 'specially the emo-looking one!"

'_I've been called emo more than thrice since Sakuya-san's been back…_' Ienzo thought to himself as he rubbed his temples. "I assure you, this isn't a date."

"To clarify, we've been sent here to make sure everything's alright." Saix added while he took a sip from his coffee cup, carefully eyeing Ingus who was glaring knives at him because of their last encounter. "We've heard…reports of someone that seemed to be after you. Have you met anyone today that seemed suspicious, Yukina-sama?"

"Well…" Yukina tried to think as calmly as she could, being that she was always overreacting with whatever was brought into her mind. 'Should I say yes? But if I do say yes, then those two will be hunting down my new friend, and we'd never have a normal conversation ever again!' Yukina gave a sheepish smile, and replied with, "Everyone I met today is normal, with nothing really worth being paranoid about."

"'After her' as in 'deranged psycho/killer/murderer' or 'after' as in someone that's stalking her?" Refia asked, not paying much mind to the real points in the conversation. "If it's the first case, then hire a bodyguard."

"No way! This town's always quiet! You never hear anything about arson or murder around here!" Tidus exclaimed, relieving the three seated altogether at one table. "You're reading way too much manga!"

"Hey! That stuff is awesome to read!" Refia argued.

"Well!" Ienzo shouted. Upon standing up, he slammed both hands on the table, silencing everyone else in the café. "It's been nice talking to you all, so I guess the three of us will be going!" He eyed Saix and Yukina, both of which hurried up with their desserts.

"I hoped this meeting would've been a little bit more eventful…" Saix commented as both he and Ingus seemed to glare at each other for a few moments, making the others a bit unnerved. "It seems we weren't really needed to come here after all!"

Yukina watched the two open up the glass doors and letting the cold air into the café again, which obviously annoyed Refia. However, when she was about to follow them, Yuna walked over to Yukina and blocked her way. "May I help you?"

"Have you and the other teenager really forgotten about this café?" Yuna asked. "You've been here before. Can't you remember? I remember the two of you almost perfectly; it was last year, during the spring."

"I've…been here before?" Yukina repeated. Then she walked past Yuna, with a bewildered expression. "I'm sorry I don't know what you mean, but maybe we could discuss this some other time!"

"Aren't those two the ones that Lulu was talking about?" Tidus asked Yuna after making sure that all three were gone.

"Yes…it seems…they really have forgotten."

* * *

All three of them were on their way back to apartment/hotel, with Ienzo and Saix walking back at the same pace, while Yukina walked slowly behind them.

"Ienzo, are you sure that the scent you picked up was that of the Superior's?" Saix asked, looking back at Yukina to make sure that she was blissfully unaware of the newly started conversation. "Maybe you got the scent wrong."

"I'm positive that the scent was—" Ienzo stopped himself as he realized how Saix referred to the presently unknown man. "The Superior…that's what you called him?"

"I guess I have to apologize. It's more or less a habit." Saix sighed. "If…Xemnas actually had the pleasure of meeting Yukina-sama, it's a surprise she's still unscathed."

"Is your former leader really that ruthless?" Ienzo asked as he turned to look at Yukina as Saix had done earlier. '_I can't let that happen to her again. It might be too much for her. What is this Xemnas planning?_'

"Unfortunately, he certainly is ruthless, cold, and a few other adjectives I could name." Saix replied sadly. "He was willing to torture her—physically and mentally—for the sake of most of the Organization to stay within his extent of control. As for his true goals…"

"You don't really know do you?" Ienzo questioned, acknowledging Saix's silence. "It would be obvious he doesn't really want to 'exist' like you and the others want. Maybe he's planning something that's typical for the usual major villain of a Sentai story."

"You still remember what Roxas told you?" Saix replied as he formed a microscopic smile. "What color am I? Oh, navy. Supposedly, you're blue, the emo one."

'Again…' Ienzo thought to himself. Out of anger, he picked up a clump of snow and threw it at Saix's face. "There. We're even." Ienzo claimed. He walked ahead, while Saix simply stood there.

'What was that for?' Saix himself thought as the snow slowly slid off his face. 'If he actually wants to get into that…' He picked up some more snow, and prepared to throw it, but Yukina stepped forward and whacked him on the head, causing him to grumble a few "colorful" words before turning back to face Yukina.

"I don't think it's nice to just throw a snowball at him while he isn't looking." Yukina said as she wagged a finger in front of Saix's eyes. "He just said that you two were even. Don't you think it was mean to call him emo?"

"Well, he took it, right?" Saix replied as he dropped the snowball onto the ground. "Well, let me rephrase that. The only way he showed he was disapproving of the title was that of throwing the snowball, right? If he wanted to actually say something about it, he would've said it by now."

"If people kept saying you were a bad guy, but all you did was keep silent about it, that would make people want to keep saying things, right?" Yukina stated, making Saix look ahead and start walking while she followed. "Even if you don't say anything, you expect people to know that you want them to stop. That's how Ienzo-kun feels."

They kept walking in silence until they got to the house, with Ienzo feeling rather odd considering the fact that they were greeted with the same silence as they walked through the transparent glass doors. The only acknowledgement they seemed to get was that of Demyx waving with a smile glued to his face.

"Why does everyone sound like they're dead?" Yukina asked curiously. "It feels like a graveyard in this place…"

"But Yuki-chan, people don't make sounds when they're dead." Demyx pointed out.

"That's exactly my point."

Even with that little exchange of words, no one seemed to notice them come through the doors. Saix took a long stare into the room and decided to go upstairs to take a nap, however, Yukina tugged on his sleeve silently. Through a conversation only spoken through eye contact, Yukina led the way up through flights of stairs and onto the roof, where she struggled opening the door because of all the built up snow.

"Why is it that we need to continue the conversation up here?" Saix asked. "All I really want to do is take a nap…"

"Well…it was more than the conversation." Yukina answered as she sat on the snow. She looked back at Saix, who seemed puzzled. "I was wondering why you weren't using a portal when you came to the café. I can understand if you don't want other people to see, but the others seem to use it just fine without anyone noticing. Plus…there's the fact that you used the word 'sama' when referring to me. There are very few reasons that I can think of when it comes to regarding me so highly." Yukina fell on her back to stare at the sky. "Wait! But I don't think you need to answer any of them! I'm sorry! I just wasn't thinking straight!"

"Indeed. I don't think you can just order anyone to answer your questions simply like that." Saix stated as he walked to the edge of the building and sat with his legs hanging off the edge. "By all means, you've practically won everyone over, but that doesn't mean you could really expect your questions to be answered purely because you want them to." Saix stared down, but heard Yukina shriek.

"So that's it!" Yukina exclaimed as she bolted up. "You don't like anyone acting as if they're better than you!" She smiled as she saw Saix look at her with worry, and then she followed his example and sat with her legs dangling over the building's edge. "Well, I got an answer, but I still have more questions in need of some." After putting her hands on her head, she leaned back and found the sly once more.

"What did I just say?" Saix growled as he glared at a smiling Yukina. "Suddenly, you're a lot less innocent than what I would usually run into." He was flustered as he acknowledged the sudden change in character in Yukina. _'She's usually a straightforward person, despite her timid personality. Does the fact that she want answers really change so much?_'

"The thing is…" Yukina started to snap Saix back to reality. "…I want answers for the sake of having no problems." Yukina scratched her head as she gave a weaker smile. "I'm not sure how to rephrase that."

"Just…continue normally." Saix suggested.

"Oh! Um! Okay…" Yukina raised her hands up to grasp a falling snowflake. "Secrets may or may not be good to tell, but eventually, they'll become a bit of a burden later. To have those kinds of burdens would be…sad. You don't have to answer, just…do what makes yourself feel comfortable here. Because—by all means…I really want you to be happy."

Saix, for unknown reasons…laughed after a few seconds worth of silence. Much to Yukina's surprise, he truly seemed like he was enjoying themselves simply because of the conversation, but after the most of it died down, he wiped away a tear. "Ha ha ha…I'm sorry! I'm terribly, terribly sorry for my outburst! Ha ha ha!" Saix's laughter was later reduced to simply smiling as his stomach began to hurt. "I really am sorry." Saix sighed as he apologized. "It's…the first time…anyone's said anything like that." Saix looked at Yukina, who had a mixed expression of both confusion and happiness. "Just for that…you'll get your answers."

"Really!?" Yukina bolted upwards once more. "That would be grea—I mean, it would be good for you to share." Saix laid his hand on her head and had her hair messed up in response to her happiness.

His smile diminishing, he took his hand back and rubbed his hands together, keeping them warm for the time being. "I wasn't able to use a portal because I'm not like the others anymore. I'm…someone again. And, to be honest…I really don't know if I should by happy."

"Why?" Yukina questioned. "You have your heart back, something the others would want so—"

"I _know_ that they want their hearts back badly." Saix interrupted. "Everyone would hate me even more if they knew about this, so telling it to just you alone wouldn't be good enough to keep take away the burden I'll have to bear. Everyone wants their hearts back because they want to be accepted again."

"But…people can already accept—"

"Why do you think we have our own world filled with nothingness?" Saix asked to stop her from going any further. "Without hearts, nobodies are shunned by both light and darkness. Both the light and darkness that are within one's heart would actually give them a true existence. It's not the emotions that we need or even want." Saix took a deep breath as he laid his hand above his heart. "Nobodies wish to get rid of that feeling of emptiness. All nobodies display emotions even though they constantly deny the fact that they have them. It's that unbearable emptiness that we—they used to have."

"I'm…I'm sorry for asking…" Yukina said, deeply saddened by Saix's story. "To think that…that's what you've been going through, and the others—Demi-kun, Onee-chan, and the others. They've all been so empty! I would've felt that way too but…I don't remember a single bit of it!" She was about to cry if it weren't for Saix's intervention of giving a supposedly playful ruffle of her hair.

"In a way…I envy you." Saix exhaled. "It's because you don't remember that I envy you. You want be able to feel that empty…void if you try to reminisce about your own days as a nobody. Ienzo as well. I envy the both of you. And despite that…I regard you so highly, because it's reminded me of something."

"What did it really remind you of?" Yukina asked anxiously.

"Despite the fact that having a heart might not be what I had expected it to be…" Saix smiled and sighed with content. "Having a heart makes it much better for me to appreciate such a blessing like you I have in something I can finally call my own life."

* * *

((Cheesy or not? You can decide! I think I'm making Saix (more or less) a major character in all of this. I was thinking that Demyx might have a bigger part in this chapter, but I kind of lost the original document, making me type up the entire thing from scratch out of memory! (I'm sorry!) Even the spat between Larxene and Axel won't be important until later. Either way, I think that the Valentine's Day Chapter I have in mind will be belated, and it won't have a good impact on you guys. Perhaps I can use the time this weekend to hurry up and type it up. In the very high chance that I will submit it late, I wish you a great happy Valentine's Day with your loved ones! Ja ne! Onemorethingpleasereview!))


	13. Somewhat Special Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Special! Valentine's Day Chapter!

"_Mekyo! Mekyo! Ohaiyo gozaimaaaaasu!! Wakey wakey!!_" The alarm on his phone went off. Angrily, Marluxia mashed the buttons until the alarm shut up. (_Stupid rabbit. What the hell does 'oharo' mean?)_ He irritably asked himself as he scratched his head. (_Oh, it's morning.)_ He stared out the window, seeing a bright sun instead of the usual gray clouds. (_Clouds are rolling away, that's good for my flowers!_)

He stretched out his arms and tended to his appearance in front of the mirror after dressing up for the day. He winked at his own reflection in the mirror before starting downstairs to greet the others. However, something caught his eye as he was about to round the corner to the lobby. A large, pink blotch on the calendar had been marked off, which made Marluxia widen his eyes in excitement.

Ienzo slowly made his way downstairs and took a quick glance of curiosity as to why Marluxia was staring at the calendar for such a long period of time. The pink-haired man smiled disturbingly while he slowly turned around to face Ienzo, who was backing away out of fear. "M-Marluxia-san!? What the hell is going through your sick and twisted mind!?"

"Kekekekekeke…" Marluxia chuckled as he began to answer Ienzo's question. "Surely you're aware of what today has in store for you, you adorable, lucky little emo…" Marluxia took slow steps towards the blue-haired bibliophile, which—needless to say—broke out into a run. "You know you want to go on a date with Yuki-chan and I'll be there with you every step of the way to take pictures of posterity!"

_(I've recently gone over a book with different poems. The stanzas consist of two couplets rather than the traditional quatrain. It's easy to make some because you have to think of words that sound alike. Take, for example:_

_The bookworm took some time to think_

_Because he had to get away from the mass of pink_

_The situation itself is maddening,_

_But in the victim's shoes, saddening_

_Believe it or not, I came up with that within the moment of being chased around by a more-than-obsessed florist while being observed by the onlookers. What the hell is Marluxia-san talking about?)_ Ienzo knew he hadn't much to think because he was physically underwhelming, which was beginning to take its toll on him. When Ienzo turned his head to look at the calendar, time seemed to stop. He could've stayed in the air, looking like a snapshot from a wildlife reserve, while he stared at the calendar for a few seconds, minutes, hours, but not a day. Only now did Ienzo see how Marluxia was making his point known. However, Ienzo was greeted by what could be either good news or bad news by being held by his collar by a towering Lexaeus.

"Zexion, inform me of what is transpiring." Lexaeus suggested as he picked up Ienzo by his collar, not in a threatening manner, but the sight was odd nonetheless. Then he eyed Marluxia, who seemed disapproving of his actions. "If you are the cause of this problem, then I will make sure Ienzo does not fall within your hands once more."

"Lexaeus, right?" Ienzo asked as he guessed the man's name. He sighed with relief as he received a nod in response. "I'm pretty sure Marluxia-san's chasing me because today is the holiday known as February 14th. Valentine's Day." Lexaeus let go of Ienzo's collar slowly and blinked a few times. (_The figurative mountain stood as still as a statue in front of Marluxia-san and me. Seizing my chance, I tried to make a run for it, careful not to actually provoke Marluxia-san into chasing me again.)_

"Let me get Vexen to help you out." He spoke before Ienzo was able to take his first step. He walked away, and underneath his exterior, he was struggling not to laugh.

"Why get that bothersome second-rate hack? He's just an old-timer who forsakes the importance of beauty and perfection to discover things no one bothers to pay attention to." Marluxia wearily sighed and stared silently at Ienzo. Sighing he scratched his head. "I can't have fun with my toys if he comes along. I can't stand that man."

"I am not a toy." Ienzo glared knives at Marluxia, who—despite the glare—was still giving an apathetic look in return. (_This man is more than frustrating. At least the others stop when I want them to. But Marluxia-san is more annoying than Roxas-san without sea-salty ice cream in sight.) _Ienzo kept his thought to himself as hecontinued trying his attempts at escaping the ensuing chaos.

* * *

Vexen had painstakingly conjured up a potion for unknown purposes throughout the night. In his room, he spent hours dipping various chemicals into a single beaker and writing down the reactions. _(Perhaps I should—NO!!) _Vexen was close to yelling at himself as he was trying to prevent his eyes from shutting. (_I've come too far to stop now! Should I let myself drift off into unnecessary sleep, my work that has accumulated at this point will be for naught!_)

Lexaeus, being the almost-ever-silent and loyal friend that he was, decided to check up on Vexen's condition. (_That man truly does not know the meaning of vacation…)_ Lexaeus sighed with annoyance as he watched Vexen's head continuously bob up and down from exhaustion and drowsiness. "Vexen, perhaps you should use the day to sleep."

"Nnnnggggaaaaaahhh…" moaned Vexen as he wearily glanced at Lexaeus with bloodshot eyes. "I can't stop now…today is important…" Vexen managed a small smile as the potion changed colors for a few times before becoming a vibrant shade of lavender. "Now…this is the fruit of my hard work…hehehehehehe…" He held the container in his hand and turned towards Lexaeus.

"Surely you didn't spend _all_ night on _that_…" Lexaeus scratched his head as he walked over and looked at the tube that Vexen was clutching in his frantic hands. "I don't think that whatever you made is stable. Considering the fact that you didn't get an ounce of sleep, you could've very well made an explosion waiting to happen." However, he took some time to think as he took a quick look at Vexen's condition. He had strands of hair sticking out in different directions, and bloodshot eyes, twitching, and an unnerving smile. "What does the potion do, exactly?"

"Well, today's that special day that Yukina's people call…Valentine's Day." Vexen sighed, still smiling menacingly. "The potion would make people avoid the one person that they have affections for. In other words, I'm going to use it on Ienzo so that he could avoid Yukina for several hours!" Vexen grinned as he stared at the potion. "The only way this could possibly be a failure is that of someone adding a different chemical into it but I already threw it away—"

"Isn't that…messing with people's emotions for a bad reason?" Lexaeus insisted, much to Vexen's dismay.

"Our little Ienzo's growing up, but…" Vexen ran a hand through his hair as he sighed and put the covered test tube down. "I don't want him to grow up! It seemed like it was only yesterday when Ienzo was wearing a lab coat several sizes too big and he was kicking Xigbar's ass as a scientist. Whatever happened to those times when there was just the three of us having fun!?" Vexen then slammed his forehead on the desk, with considerable force. "I know I'm being clingy, but I think Ienzo's a little…I don't know…immature for that kind of relationship—WHERE THE HELL'S THE POTION!?"

Lexaeus and Vexen looked around frantically for the mysteriously disappeared. However, Lexaeus spotted a blur of yellow feathers, signifying that a certain chocobo was sneaking around the room. He tapped Vexen on the shoulder and stared in the direction of a few boxes. "Kimaru is hiding behind those. I believe that's where you'll find the potion."

"Okay, I got it…" Vexen stealthily tiptoed over to the boxes filled with unorganized papers and eyed the shadow of a small chocobo. When the shadow seemed to look the other way, he seized his chance as well as Kimaru. "I got you! No one gets away with that potion! That's important!!" Vexen yelled, not minding the fact that the overgrown bird might no understand a word he was saying.

"KWEEEEH!! KWEEEEEEHH!!" Kimaru noisily screeched as he wrestled away from Vexen's grip, which made the potion fall out of his beak and onto the ground.

"Out with you, you birdbrain." Vexen growled, making Kimaru race out the nearest door. Vexen looked at the potion that the chocobo dropped. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

Marluxia grinned at the thought of his plan working out perfectly. He would simply have the chocobo steal the potion, switch out the real potion with an older one Vexen had thrown away earlier and make like a tree. (_That so-called scientist shall never ruin this day! Ienzo, I shall do everything in my power to help your love blossom!_) Marluxia walked out of a separate door and lightly tossed the container in the air and caught it. Then he found himself staring at it. "Somehow…the task itself is too easy for it to be done just yet…"

"What task?"

Marluxia nearly jumped out of his skin when Ienzo had popped up from behind him, however he straightened up and smiled at him, "I was simply running an errand for Vexen, making sure that this goes in the trash and not into ignorant hands."

"Well, I guess that's okay…" Ienzo shrugged, which made Marluxia relieved at the statement. "However, Vexen says something's been taken from his lab without his permission. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the theft, do you?" Ienzo took out a potion from behind his back and showed it to Marluxia. "This is the decoy potion that was found at the crime scene. Does it look familiar?"

"Well…" Marluxia quickly hid the potion behind his back, but Ienzo noticed the movement quick enough to slap the potion out of his hand and into his own.

"You're not supposed to mess around with Vexen's experiments. Who knows what can happen to you if you don't handle them correctly." Ienzo was about to turn around to return the potion, but a rather aggravated Marluxia had caught his wrist.

"Umm…you don't really want to return the potion." Marluxia took a hold of the potion, but they both ended up fighting for it. "GIVE IT!!"

"THIS BELONGS TO VEXEN!!"

"SCREW THAT OLD LUNATIC!!"

Unknown to them, both the decoy potion and the real potion fell out of their hands while they were squabbling, but they didn't break upon impact. Instead, they rolled away to the feet of Demyx, who picked them up out of curiosity. (_I've always wondered what happened if you mix two random potions together. I've always ruined Vexen's potions, but I've never actually mixed some together on purpose…) _Demyx added a drop of the decoy potion onto the real one, making it turn pink. However, the potion bubbled up slightly, which immediately alerted Ienzo and Marluxia.

"DEMYX!!!" They both shouted as they charged for the musician.

Demyx instinctively ran away, but to catch up to him, both Marluxia and Ienzo pounced for the potions, but actually broke the containers in the process. Marluxia got up unscathed, but Ienzo and Demyx found themselves wet with the pink liquid.

"Demyx, you're not supposed to mess with things that aren't yours…" Ienzo sighed. Suddenly, both of their eyes widened, much to Marluxia's surprise. "I think…I have to find Sakuya-san." Ienzo looked up with a puzzling look.

"Well…I think that I have to give Yuki-chan a big, huge hug!!!" Demyx shouted as he jumped up and down continuously. "Ienzo-baka! I'm not letting you take her away from me!"

"Hey! She doesn't belong to anyone!" Ienzo yelled, but then he thought about his statement. "Well, she doesn't belong to anyone yet!" Marluxia nearly fell backwards if it wasn't for the wall that he smacked his head against. "Sakuya-san will most definitely be won over by me! You have no right to actually claim her!"

"That's what you think!" Demyx shouted before running out of sight.

Ienzo simply watched as Demyx sped off. "It's a good thing Sakuya-san has school today, and then there's the fact that she has kendo club right after. I have a good eight hours to win her over." Ienzo then looked at Marluxia who looked rather broken at this point. "Marluxia, do you have any flowers that I can use for Sakuya-san?"

"F-Flowers!?" Marluxia gasped. "I-I'm not sure if I should be saying congratulations or what the hell are you thinking…" Marluxia calmed himself down and turned to fact the wall. (_Calm down, Marluxia. This is what you've been waiting for, right? For Ienzo-kun to reach deep inside his heart and proclaim his love to Yuki-chan. But…I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing considering the fact that this was brought about only by a potion. Well, I have to help him out. Demyx-kun certainly can't fit with Yuki-chan._) Marluxia turned around and awkwardly smiled. "If you would follow me to my greenhouse, then I'd be more than happy to let you pick out a few flowers!"

Silence followed, but then Ienzo spoke up and requested, "Don't act like a waitress because it's kind of creepy to have such an effeminate man talk like that. Marginally, you're a bishounen, but talking like a waitress practically pulls down your popularity." Ienzo then sighed, "I'll do it later, but for now I have to run over to Sakuya-san's school. I have a note to deliver."

* * *

Yukina wiped her forehead that was coated in sweat after she took off her helmet and returned her shinai. The bamboo weapon was lighter than she thought, making her training go a little smoother than anticipated. But, as smart as she was, she wasn't able to see that someone had actually gone through her locker. However, Yukina saw how her locker was a mess when she opened it up.

"Have I been robbed!?" She shouted out loud when she opened it up, however she caught the attention of the other kendo club members. "I'm sorry for my shouting—I'm getting over it!" She shouted once more, prompting the others to hurry up and leave. (_Well, it looks like my stuff has been gone through, but nothing's missing. Hello? What's this?_) She picked up two small boxes of chocolates with letters attached to them. She decided to read the first one.

_Dear Yuki-chan,_

_I'm pretty sure it's obvious, but if you didn't know, you are the best person I know and I want to know if we can get in a closer relationship. I'm sorry for any burdens I might have caused you, but thankfully, that's all in the past! You are the most important person in my life and I like everything about you. This may take time to sink it, but I think we can get along just fine._

(_Definitely from Demi-kun, but…is that what he really thinks of me?_) She started blushing, but she calmed down when she decided to read the second one. (_I wonder who the next one is from…_)

_Sakuya-san,_

_I know that I lack social skills necessary to form friendships with others, and I have to admit, it's rather irritating that I can't seem to muster up and confidence to talk to people naturally. However, I think that I can start with you. You are beautiful, kind, and talented, which makes it hard to believe that after knowing you for several months, it has taken me this much time to say—_

* * *

"I LOVE YOU!?" Larxene shouted out loud as soon as she read the last line of the second letter. She was the first person toe receive it as soon as Yukina had gone back home, so of course it would come as no surprise as everyone else huddled around the letter to read it for themselves. "THIS HAS TO BE THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAY TO START UP A RELATIONSHIP!!"

"Wow…" Axel said deadpan as he stared at the same line that Larxene shouted out. "To think that we've been pestering him to do something romantic, but this is the rotten fruit of our hard work.? This is pathetically and pitifully half-baked."

Roxas simply nodded in agreement. "If I had a sea-salty ice cream bar for every time this relationship had an awkward moment, I'd be a very fat teenager." Roxas flipped through a magazine, not minding the conversation any longer.

"Eto…guys…" Yukina started to get their attention. "You should look at the bottom of Ienzo-kun's letter. That's the part I just can't get by…" She pointed back to the place where it said: _Meet me at Dreamland Park._

"I'm betting a thousand munny that Ienzo's going to take Yun-Yun on a good date." Luxord smiled skeptically as he eyed Xigbar and Xaldin, his usual victims. "I think Ienzo will execute the plan with more finesse and tact, whilst Demyx would be inconsiderate and rude."

"Nuh-UH!!" Xigbar interjected as he pointed at Luxord. "Ienzo's a bibliophilic zombie! He wouldn't know a good time if it was shoved up his emo pretty-boy ASS!! I'm taking up that bet that _Demyx _would give her the better date!"

"I'm with Luxord on this one." Xaldin added as he tossed a dart at a nearby dartboard. "Xigbar, you wouldn't know a good choice if it was shoved straight into your only eye."

Throughout their squabbling, Yukina ignored them and instead focused on looking out the window. She eyed a lone gray bird on a telephone, but eventually a blue bird had provided it some company. (_Supposing that gray bird was me…either Ienzo-kun or Demi-kun would be that one blue bird. I'm pretty sure that I've seen this kind of juxtaposition in a TV show I watched, but I forgot what happens to the girl that has two guys that love her. Wait a…I'm not in that kind of relationship with anyone, am I?)_

"Thinking about those two?" Larxene asked as she sat down next to Yukina, who looked like she might burst. From what she would burst from was unknown at the time. "It looks hard, but it's a piece of cake! Trust me!" Larxene practically cracked on the inside. (_What am I saying!? I'm practically falling into Axel's hands! Just. Stop. Talking.)_

"Well, I love the both of them." Yukina stated outright, but she ended up pressing her hand against the window where the two birds were still perched. "They're both very close to me and they do so much for me. I'm…not exactly sure whom I would love more. Both of them are really close to me, but I think that if I even try choosing one, I'd be disappointing the other. Onee-chan, the fact that you said it was easy…makes me think that I'm more of an idiot than I thought. I'm sorry if your advice is wasted on me."

"That's not what I was trying to say!!" Larxene roughly smacked Yukina on the head, much to everyone surprise as they observed. Yukina rubbed her head in disbelief as she looked back to an irritated Larxene. "Look, you're not an idiot. You have top-notch grades and even when you miss out on all that schoolwork, you manage to bring it back up again. Despite your ditzy demeanor, you're actually smart compared to the rest of us." Larxene scratched her head out of not being used to encouraging people instead of bringing them down like she used to. "You're just…uneducated."

"You're right…" Yukina sighed with depression obviously in her voice. "Onee-chan, I'm sorry."

"Dammit! You're not supposed to apologize! Stop apologizing!" Larxene bashed Yukina's head one more time, which nearly brought the others to restrain her. "Get a grip. You think you're mature, but you don't know how the real world is yet. Not everything's bent on trying to get something out of you. Not everything has a price. But if someone disagrees with that choice, screw them. If someone decides to hate you, screw that too. But if you really can't change…care about yourself before caring about others. "

"I'm so—I mean…thank you, Onee-chan." Yukina struggled to smile, but received a soft pat on the head from Larxene. "I…I think I'll try to reason out with them because…I'm still not sure about who I'll pick."

"Fine. But the next time either one of those two asks you out, you have to choose by then."

"Don't worry. I'll do my best!" Yukina raised a fist in the air, but slowly put it down as she smiled awkwardly. "But…if I'm going on a date, then I have to dress for the occasion, right?"

Axel smiled awkwardly at the situation, but noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned his head, he found Demyx waving at him from out in the hallway. Deciding to ignore it, he looked away but after seeing Larxene having a mischievous look in her eye, he decided to go back to Demyx. He inched out of the door, but leisurely took his time as Demyx pulled him out into the hallway.

"Aku-chan! I need your help!!" Demyx screeched when they were far enough from the others. "I need help in wooing Yuki-chan!" Demyx kept waving his arms around like an idiot, but Axel stared at him in disbelief. Demyx noticed the silence and started waving his arm around in front of Axel's face. "What? You don't believe me?"

"No. No, I don't." Axel replied all but enthusiastically. "Why would I want to help you?"

Demyx raised a finger up in the air, but nothing seemed to come out of his mouth when it opened. Then he looked at Axel and shrugged, "Just because." Demyx bent over when he realized that he had no hope in gaining favor with Axel. "I know I'm a hopeless idiot, but I need help! And you always seem to know more about the situations around us than everyone combined! PleaseohpleaseohPLEASE!!"

"You know that…you're kinda screwed." Axel answered lazily. "In that case, I'm going to help you out."

"But…why?"

"Just because." Axel kept a scowl as he looked in another direction but inside his own little world he was laughing his ass off. (_Holy crap this is rich! Demyx actually asking for help? In a situation demanding poorly scripted romance!? I can't possibly skip ou_t!)

* * *

Ienzo took a deep breath as he walked past Axel and Demyx in the hall. Noticing Axel's awkward smile, he kept walking faster. A boquet of flowers in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other, he walked nervously over to Yukina's room. (_Will she really accept these? Maybe I should've gotten her a stuffed animal…NO! You're already at this stage. You've given her the letter, now just give her these and you'll be home free. Just keep a cool head, Ienzo…)_

Despite the bickering everyone was having, they immediately noticed the sound of the door slowly being opened, and all of them warped out of the room while Yukina was still looking out at the two birds perched on a telephone wire outside the window. Ienzo struggled to open the door without any free hands, but after a good two minutes, he managed to stumble out of the door, seemingly unscathed. Taking note that Yukina didn't look back when he entered the room, he straightened up and walked over to her location by the window.

"H-Hey, Sakuya-san." Ienzo greeted as he tentatively walked over. He straightened up as Yukina spun around and looked at him with the ever-confused look she had when she sees someone who wasn't there when she last checked. "I think you got my letter in your locker. I guess it was informal, but…I was hoping that…" Ienzo opened his mouth, but the only sound that seemed to come out was senseless babble. Ienzo smacked his head as he dropped the box of chocolates. (_Holy s***!! What the HELL was that!?!?)_

"Ienzo-kun, Vexen-sama's a scientist, but he's also a bit of a doctor. Do you wanna get a check-up?" Yukina asked innocently, but unaware of Ienzo's intention.

"GAWAAAAAA!!!" Ienzo shouted in what could be taken as either annoyance, frustration, or frantic depression. "I don't need that old man's help! I was just wondering if you would…go….um—DAMMIT!!"

"Ienzo-kun, if you wanted to say something, you should say it." Yukina said firmly as she still kept her calm composure. She placed a hand on the glass, and continued imagining possible solutions to her dilemma, but to no avail. (_Perhaps Ienzo-kun is trying to ask me out on a date, but that doesn't help me. I wish I knew what to do. Those birds sure are lucky…at least they don't have to choose between friends. A random bird swoops in and they're automatically together. Life is never simple_…) Yukina sighed.

"That's it!" Ienzo shouted. "Yukina-sama, I implore you to go on a date with me!" Ienzo dropped on his left knee and held up the bouquet of flowers. (_What the hell am I thinking!? What the hell is wrong with me!_?)

* * *

"Men usually give their dates a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day, but why the hell are you giving Yuki a CD?" Axel asked irritably as Demyx sifted through different CDs. "You really have no orthodox social life, do you?" Axel looked away as he noticed Demyx shake his head.

"Ienzo might go for something traditional, but if you do something traditional, you have a traditional relationship. I want ours to be special." Demyx pointed as he grinned and took out another CD out of its rack. "And you should only criticize people if you're ready to have people criticize you. "

"I having a relationship is what you mean, then I'm staying single so long as you're alive." Axel replied with disgruntled mien.

* * *

Ienzo found himself practically broken as he found out that a simple request was all it took to persuade someone like Yukina to go on a date with him. The blinding neon signs and colors weren't enough to drive him insane, but Demyx was with them every step of the way, as he noticed his scent always not too far away from their location. As a normal date, it didn't last very long simply because Ienzo was growing weary of having that "feeling" when someone is watching you from the shadows. Little did he know that Demyx wasn't the only one spying on the date.

"Ienzo-kun!" Yukina shook him violently as Ienzo was deep in frustrating thoughts as he spent time trying to make the whole thing work out. "Ienzo-kun, daijobu?" Yukina noticed this as well, but dismissed it when she thought she had a rational feeling for it. (_Perhaps Ienzo-kun is being bothered by the fact that nothing special is happening! What kind of blessing did Saix-sama say I was!? They say first dates are hard, but this is much harder than I thought it would be!!_)

Saix walked cautiously among the crowd, doing his best not to bump into anyone and keeping an eye on Ienzo, Demyx, and Yukina. (_Certainly the heartless can't appear in this populated area! There hasn't been an attack, but according to Vexen—who was behaving quite…strangely this morning—tells us that the heartless have started stirring up. But…the last attack was last year. How is it that the Heartless can keep appearing and disappearing in such controlled quantities? I guess the only thing I can do now is watch…)_ Saix proceeded to do so.

While Ienzo was undoubtedly and obviously nervous, he kept blushing like mad whenever Yukina made physical contact with him. (_When she tugs my wrist or even makes eye contact, my face just—GAAAH!!_) Ienzo straightened up when Yukina patted him on the back. "Y-Yukina-sama…" Ienzo promptly stopped himself and buried his head within his hands while they were sitting on the small bench.

(_If Ienzo-kun won't lighten up, then this date will never turn out like Ienzo-kun planned. Well, I don't know exactly what that is, but I guess I'll just do whatever I can to help_!) Yukina came up with a firm look on her face and decided to "Help" Ienzo. "Ienzo-kun, I figured that this date would be…better than what it is now but…" She ended up smacking herself in the forehead when she even attempted the firm approach.

(_Oh no! I'm disappointing her! This isn't at all what I wanted! Will she cut it off here? Will she storm off!? What will she do_!?) Instead of an expected irritated outburst, or even an exasperated sigh, he found Yukina laughing. (_Her face seemed to get redder as time passed and even when she paused to breathe, she would just continue laughing. I noticed that while she laughed when the others were having fun…she would never laugh like this. Right now, it just seems as if she was hiding something all this time. I don't think I've ever really seen her this happy_.)

"How can I honestly say it!" She laughed, "I don't think it will make any sense!" She found it hard to breathe and it took some time for her to stop. She took a glance at Ienzo who looked dumbstruck at the time. (_Oh no! Just an outburst and he already gives me a weird look! Even if I try explaining why I laughed so hard, he wouldn't understand!)_

The two were kept thinking nervously, which happened to puzzle everyone who was watching them. Most everyone besides Demyx and Saix seemed to smack their heads on something hard. Demyx's reason for not reacting in an expected way was that he was rather…depressed.

"Ienzo-kun, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to laugh like I did, but—it was just that—I…" Yukina found herself in an ominous mix of feelings and emotions that didn't occur since Demyx had shown up months ago. Knowing she had crossed the point of no return, she continued, albeit reluctantly. "I was just that…it was rather…ironic."

"How was our situation ironic? I mean, dates that go wrong are—" Ienzo tried to protest but saw Yukina shake her head in reply. (_It confused me to the point of irritation how strangely she acted at times. She would be happy one minute, sad the next. But maybe that was because she was making up her reasons for her actions as she went along. Even so, Sakuya-san would still be able to show a bit of her real emotions if given the chance_.)

"Well, it's a little bit of yes and no." Yukina smiled warmly, causing Ienzo only to blush slightly at her actions that differed from her usual cheery and kind display. "You see, the whole time, I think you set up the date because you wanted to tell me something, but for some reason, you just kept to yourself! It's actually ironic considering the fact that dates bring more fun to someone's relationship, but here you are: seeming as if this date is making you sad! While most would find it sad, I actually find it funny!"

Ienzo suddenly found it hard to believe that a simple request could have taken him this far. "Y-Yukina-sama, you're right about…me telling you something." Ienzo tried his best not to let his blushing get too out of control. "You see…you spend time with the others. You show them how kind you are, and while we're in the same room, we would actually seem more distant. Even so, I wanted to take you on this date because…I…I—!"

"Yuki-chan!"

To their disappointment, Demyx had shown up and embraced Yuki before she could hear what Ienzo had to say. "I was so worried when I couldn't find you! I spent all day looking for you, but here you are, chatting with Ienzo-chan!" Demyx let go of Yukina and pulled her up. "Hey, there's a Ferris wheel that overlooks the entire park and it looks beautiful at night! All three of us should go ride it!" Demyx pulled out a CD to her. "A little late, but I think it's okay. This is an apologetic gift for getting here so late! So, are we going to the Ferris wheel, or what?"

"O-Of course, Demi-nii…" Yukina smiled, but not in the same manner as when she was talking to Ienzo. Demyx grabbed her sleeve and proceeded to drag her over to the prominent wheel without hesitation. "Well, Ienzo-kun…are you coming?"

Ienzo didn't answer, but he just proceeded and followed the musician and the white-haired maiden. (_She's retreated into her emotional cage again. I was close…_)

* * *

Vexen smacked his head as he watched Demyx interrupt the awaiting moment. "Can you honestly believe him?" He asked irritably into his cellphone. "Ienzo was about to make a pretty good move until he showed up! It's almost…frustrating! The one time he decides to open up his feelings, the mood itself is derailed!" For some reason, he kept hearing weird sounds from what seemed to be Marluxia. "Hey, Marluxia, you feeling okay?"

Marluxia hit his against the tree branch he was leaning on when Vexen got his attention. "No, no! I'm absolutely fine!! What makes you think that I'm not okay!? I'm just so frickin' giddy that these two are actually having a chance to get together!"

"You BAKA!!" Larxene screeched into her new cellphone. "Did you not just see what happened!? I need to knock you over your head to keep you sane! And you're acting less like the bastard you are! Where the hell are your flower-themed monologues!? Where the hell is that renaissance speech!? What the hell happened!?"

"Well—the thing was—I'm just—reallyfreakedoutbyhowthishappened!!" Marluxia shouted into his cellphone, damaging the other's hearing. After hearing Larxene's complaints, he sighed and decided to calm down. "I apologize, especially to Vexen. You see, I know why Ienzo's acting in this manner."

"Why are you—"

"Well it's about frickin' time something sensible came out of your mouth!" Larxene stated ever-annoyed. "So what's the reason? Did you blackmail him? Poisonous flower? What?"

"Well…I tried to keep away Vexen's potion from him, but Demyx ended up mixing that same potion with something you threw out earlier. All three of us got into a scuffle, and some of it got onto the tasteless musician and emo bookworm. They both wanted to see Yuki-chan almost immediately, so of course the obvious reason would have to be the defunct potion." Marluxia explained thoroughly. When Marluxia couldn't hear any response from either of the other lines, so he took it as them being upset. "On the upside, I finally got both of them to buy flowers from my store! At least one of us is happy!"

"YOU DID **WHAT**!?!?" Vexen screeched like someone his age supposedly wouldn't sound like. "TTHERE'S A REASON I THREW THE DAMN POTION OUT YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, MORONIC—"

"Calm down Vexen, you'll lose more of your hair if you keep yelling like that!" Larxene went on.

"Ignoring your 'golden moment', Vexen…" Marluxia cut in bluntly. "How long does the potion's effect last?"

"IF YOU ACTUALLY HEARD ME THIS MORNING, IT WILL WEAR OFF AT NINE!!" Vexen shouted even louder than before. "PESTILENCE TO YOU AND YOUR GODDAMN FLOWERS!!"

"We hate you too Vexen." Larxene muttered. "Just tell us what this means for us, because we hate Easter eggs." Larxene nearly smashed her cellphone in her hands out of frustration, but instead kept what was left of her sanity and decided to listen to what else Vexen had to say.

* * *

(_She went along, smiling like the idiot she was. The idiot I seemed to be…I dunno…attached to. But, she still seems caged. Damn that idiot of a musician…)_

"Yuki-chan!" Demyx cut in sharply. "Isn't this cool! We get to see Dreamland Park from a really high place! This is at least ten stories high! I always liked places with a view! Don't you, Yuki-chan?" Demyx chattered on insensibly as Ienzo leaned his head against the window and clenched his fist in distress. (_I can't let him win. Yuki-chan likes me, right? What has Ienzo-baka done for her? Talking does nothing if you can't back it up with action.) _

"The view is very nice to look at, Demi-nii." Yukina agreed as she looked at the glowing lights. "There's a lake that we have a perfect view of on our right, and a variety of lights on the left. I can understand why you wanted us to ride the Ferris wheel so badly. I guess I really must be thankful…" Yukina slowed down until she noticed that both boys were looking at her vigilantly and listening intently. "Well—I mean I…err…know that I must be thankful for having the both of you. Both of you are so kind to me, that's something I'm blessed with."

"You consider kindness from others a blessing?" Ienzo asked, confused. After seeing Yukina's response of a nod, he felt like agreeing with her and telling her everything that could possibly relate to the subject, but he felt something holding himself back. (_Having a chance to talk to her, that's what this piece of crap date originally was, right?_)

Suddenly, the ride came to a halt while they were at the top. Initially, Demyx thought of it as a good occurrence. "Hey! We have more time to look what's beyond the park! I'll try looking for the hotel…" Demyx pressed his face against the glass but did his best not to break it open with his skull. (_Crap! My plan's going to crash and burn! I have to keep Ienzo-baka away from Yuki-chan! At least for today, because if he makes any other advances on a day other than Valentine's Day, it'll look totally awkward! Just today_!)

"It may be good for us, but I don't think the pedestrians will like being attacked by those…things." Ienzo pointed out as Yukina came over to his side for a better look. "Demyx, those black things are attacking. Perhaps as the only one with powers, you could help those people out."

"Ienzo-kun! You've been watching all those kendo videos! Maybe you could help out too!" Yukina shouted as she looked out the window. "If we could get down from here, I could help if I got myself a weapon! A few lessons of kendo could be enough!" However, her confidence began to fade when the night sky started to fill with cries of pain and pleas for help.

"We can't risk your safety even if you insist. I'll admit, watching kendo videos may not help, but it's something. I'll have Demyx take us down there, and you'll be safe up here." Ienzo stated as gently as he could. "I know this should be our date, but…if anything happened to you, I—" Ienzo looked back to the blank Demyx who seemed unsure of what to do. Pitying the situation itself, he supposedly corrected himself. "If anything happened to you, _we_ would be the ones at fault."

"No." Demyx monosyllabically protested. The bibliophile and Yukina both seemed surprised at his refusal. "Ienzo, with…with the lack of powers on your part, you would probably get hurt…" Demyx held back tears to the best of his ability, but tried to hide his attempts by smiling. "If Ienzo got hurt…Yuki-chan would be sad and she'd beat herself up like that other time. I'll handle them and I'll try to call the others with my cellphone. There's no reason for any of you to get caught up in the battle." Demyx turned around and opened the open door. "Besides, the others will be there in a few seconds.

(_I still…love Yuki-chan…so much. But…if I love her that much, I should let her be able to choose the one she truly loves instead of backing her into a corner and forcing her to choose._) Demyx jumped headfirst and proceeded to reflect. (_Because I love her, I would do anything for he_r.) Demyx opened his eyes and summed a pillar of water to soften the landing. As he looked up, he noticed something. (_When did it get to the point where I actually cared for anyone other than myself?)_

* * *

"_We hate you too Vexen." Larxene muttered. "Just tell us what this means for us, because we hate Easter eggs." Larxene nearly smashed her cellphone in her hands out of frustration, but instead kept what was left of her sanity and decided to listen to what else Vexen had to say._

"_You teenagers…" Vexen sighed as he shook his head and stumbled out of the bushes as the group of three got on the Ferris wheel line. "Originally, the plan was to have Ienzo avoid the one person he had affections for. Meaningless to say that was Yukina." Vexen looked at Ienzo, who could look almost genuinely happy if Demyx wasn't trying to steal Yukina away. "Since Demyx mixed the two potions together, it produced the opposite effect."_

"_That means Ienzo will behave normally once the potion's effects wear off, right?" Marluxia asked as he tended to the park's wilting flowers. After hearing Vexen confirming the question, he leaned back on the bench he sat down on. "So all three of them will have the marginal idea that what they all felt will just be brushed off as some unwanted side effect."_

"_Well, that's where you're wrong." Vexen responded shakily. "The potion led Ienzo and Demyx to be after Yukina because she was the one person they both admired as well as had personal feelings for. What I'm trying to say is that the effects of this potion will merely produce a shadow of what they may or may not end up feeling for Yukina when the conflict is all over. They will do anything _but_ brush it off. And if Ienzo dwells on his own, real feelings, then the potion would just seem like mental crutches he doesn't need anymore."_

* * *

Xigbar saw Demyx's entrance into the fray and proceeded to fight alongside him. "It's about frickin' time you got here!" He shot a heartless that was aiming for his head as he caught up with Demyx. "So, how's your date goin'? I'm betting a good amount against the cheating gambler for you to show up Ienzo, so I wanna know the progress."

"Well…" Demyx smiled as he drowned a line of heartless and leaned against his sitar. "I can't exactly lie to you. I'm failing miserably in epic proportions." He ran off and proceeded to wash away the heartless in sight. "Tell me if anything interesting happens!"

"Dammit…" Xigbar muttered under his breath as he eyed the several heartless circling him. "Even when he's not cheating, that ass of a gambler gets his greedy little hands on my munny!"

* * *

"I don't sense Xemnas anywhere…" Saix breathed as he fended off a group of heartless from a gift shop. "But maybe that's because the moon isn't full tonight…" He pondered why the former leader's presence couldn't be felt despite the swarms of heartless pouring out in large numbers. "If I remember correctly, they're all at the Ferris wheel…" Saix suddenly noticed a heartless aim for his head, but it suddenly dissipated in a cloud of flames.

"So you're here too? Man, those three are never gonna get some privacy, but what's wrong with adding fuel to the fire?" Axel smirked as he kicked away a shadow. "Hmm…maybe it would be wise to team up…"

"You don't seem like the to do so…" a disgruntled Saix replied. "Despite my complete inner protest to your company, we have to make sure the heartless don't make it to the Ferris wheel." Saix was about to break into a run, but was blocked by Axel's spiked weapon. "What do you think you're doing? You just said it would be wise to team up."

"I wanted some fun out of it. What's the point of doing something if it lacks fun? In other words, you're practically pointless in almost way." Axel stuck his tongue out at Saix, much to his annoyance. "Let's see how many of these punks we can kill off. Loser forks over a thousand munny." Axel jumped forward and hurled his chakrams at a pair of unsuspecting airborne heartless. "Two."

"Three…" Saix grinned as Axel's eyes widened at the dissipating heartless behind the blue-haired berserker. "I'd say I'm in the lead."

"Not for long."

* * *

"Ienzo-kun!" Yukina shouted as Ienzo bolted out of his seat. "The others are there! Everyone's going to be alright!" She gazed outside the window as everyone gathered and fought off the heartless that seemed to be weakening. "There's Saix-sama, Axel-kun, Marluxia-chan, and Onee-chan too!" She observed as the heartless were being beaten back with each passing second. "I bet we'll get down from here in just a few minutes!"

"H-Hey…Yukina-sama." Ienzo said tentatively. Yukina turned his way and waited. "Well, you know how you said that it was ironic that I wasn't having fun on our…date?" He asked nervously. When she nodded, Ienzo looked to the side and recollected his thoughts before continuing. "Well, I tried thinking about what you said and…I realized that something about you is actually interesting as well."

"What do you mean, Ienzo-kun?" Yukina smiled, as if to dodge the real point of the conversation. "I bet it could be something trivial, or even of little importance so—"

"What I realized that was ironic about you was that while you always look happy and so carefree, you're caging yourself with insecurities." Ienzo closed his eyes and tried to block out his urges to stop. (_I can't stand that she's going on with her life and bringing herself down. Someone like her can't go on like that. It hurts but…she needs to know_.) "I mean, I can understand trying to hide your insecurities. It's so we won't worry. But if given a closer look…it's as if you're making your happiness an illusion to everyone including yourself."

Ienzo felt waves of guilt pounding at him from telling Yukina such words. (_How come this is different from this morning? This morning I felt ridiculously happy. Now I just feel…stupid. How come the confidence I never thought I had would be summoned up here_?) Ienzo noticed the ominous silence that Yukina produced.

"I th-thought that…I thought that if I was happy, it would all be taken away from me." Yukina choked back tears penitently. "So many things have been taken from me. Just when I think I'm happy, all of those memories I thought I would make…the friends I thought would stay with me…they're all gone…" Yukina looked up at Ienzo with teary, sapphire eyes. "I…I…" (_I've felt this before. I can't remember. I've told this to someone before. Was that person…taken away from me too?_)

Ienzo sat down next to her and placed his hand on her head. "You idiot," he sighed. He gently pulled her close into a warm embrace and rested his chin on her head as he felt Yukina's arms wrap around his back. "Thinking of your happiness as a transgression is foolish. Blaming everyone but yourself for events is immature and unprogressive. But blaming only yourself gets you nothing and you won't get anywhere."

"What am I supposed to do then…?" Yukina asked as she withdrew her arms back into her lap. "I can't just pretend that nothing would happen. Sad events would happen…and I would be the cause of it."

"That's not what I'm saying." Ienzo reached for Yukina's hand, only for the white haired-girl to push it away. "There has never been a day without night. But likewise, there is never a night without day. From there, anyone, even you can say '_Despite the scars of today, I will find true happiness tomorrow_.'" Ienzo slowly held his hand up and smiled, genuinely and warmly.

Yukina couldn't help but smile back at the gesture as she reached for the hand as open and accepting as the owner.

* * *

"_So when you said that the potion would wear off at nine, how would it happen?" Marluxia asked nervously._

"_Well, the process of ridding the body of the potion's effects would produce a sort of lag for whoever the potion was given to. The lag would render Ienzo's sight rather blurred and his body as well as mind would be unresponsive for a few moments so they would get used to the change." Vexen explained thoroughly. "I just hope that Ienzo would be able to handle the change itself."_

_

* * *

Before he knew it, Ienzo heard a prominent 'CRASH!' and an airborne heartless had broken through to them._

(_It all happened so fast, and the only thing I could remember was that someone had killed that large shadow and after it dissolved, the door and the wall that it was connected to was ripped out.)_ Ienzo could feel his senses being pieced back together as he tried to remember what happened before the unrecognizable moment. "Those words…were they really mine?"

"Ienzo-kun…" Ienzo heard her whisper as she fell.

"Sakuya-san…" Ienzo whispered.

(_Was I really about to say that I actually…? But those feelings couldn't possibly be mine. Something was wrong with me._) As much as Ienzo wanted to regret everything that he did for the past several hours, he spotted Yukina falling through the wide gap in the small structure suspending them in the air. (_Everyone else was down there, and I'm pretty sure that they would've caught her safely. But everything else except Yukina seemed to stop when I said her name. Instead of trying to wait for time to speed back up again, I did the most idiotic and moronic thing anyone could do_.)

"YUKINA!!" He shouted as he jumped forward to catch her.

* * *

((One word: Crap.

A whole bunch of words no one bothers to count: I'm really sorry for the unbelievably belated Valentine's Day chapter. There really is not much else to say here except...please review! It's my driving force that keeps me putting up chapters! Please review!))


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(_I couldn't understand what was happening. Everything stopped moving. What the hell just happened?_) Ienzo thought to himself as he was left suspended in the air and holding Yukina in his arms. Remembering his actions throughout the day, he was reluctant to keep hanging on to her. And just when he made the decision of letting go, he felt his arms go numb.

_If you let go of her, she'll certainly fall to her death once time returns to this world._ A childish voice called out to Ienzo as the feeling in his arms was taken away. _You should be happy I'm letting you take the time to evaluate the situation so carefully._

Ienzo looked around, and found an awfully familiar panda doll walking towards him. However, it wasn't the fact that it could walk or even walk upside-down that was so unnerving. It was that each of its stuffed limbs turned into slender human ones with each step the stuffed animal took. When the being became fully human, the only trace of his existence as a simple panda doll was that of a panda mask the teenager-sized figure used to conceal his face.

"I hate having to wear clothes. All I really had to wear as a panda doll was just a simple scarf. But I guess both forms have their downsides…" The teenager mused to himself as his gaze lingered in places where a confused expression could not be read.

"Anyone with common sense would see that it would be inappropriate to refer to you as 'Mr. Dan-Dan' anymore. Who the hell are you?" Ienzo asked while gazing past Yukina's still shoulder.

"I guess that name given to me by Demi-chan was cute, but I'm afraid I don't have a real name. Should the situation be different, I guess I would've asked you to name me." The figure shrugged. "However, I'm here for something else. Oh, and, feel free to move." The figure quickly snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, Ienzo felt himself drifting farther away from Yukina's body. He adjusted his position as he drifted farther away. Instead of being suspended, he was simply drifting weightlessly. He looked back at everything he didn't bother to give a second glance at. Glowing golden lights, the way it reflected on the lake, and even still fireworks in the sky. But he pondered about the pained and anguished expressions on each of his friends' faces.

"What is it that you want? Why are you here at all?" Ienzo asked the anonymous teenager. "Stopping time for something that would end up happening anyway is pointless, isn't it?"

"So is making wishes, but look at where we are now." He chuckled. After noticing Ienzo's shocked expression he continued. "That's right. I'm here to grant a wish that you have in your heart. I already know what it is, but I hoped that you would have second thoughts about making that choice."

"Why would I have second thoughts? I want Sakuya-san to live! Do you think that tempering around with whether or not someone lives or dies is an easy matter!?" Ienzo shouted. "If asking me about some crappy wish is all you wanted to do than stopping time was unnecessary!"

"I know you. I've watched you. I've made a wish for you once before. From the eyes of a helpless little doll, I know that you would never want to take back the choice of saving _her_."

Ienzo looked immediately to Yukina as soon as the figure exaggerated that last word. Her eyes were closed and she looked so peaceful as if she was sleeping, but her lips were curled up into a rather miniscule smile. Ienzo's eyes widened as he realized that time stopped as soon as he embraced her.

"Was she…willing to die?" Ienzo asked.

"I would have no idea. You should have to tell me." The figure walked over to Ienzo and gazed at the rest of the frozen amusement park. "At the very least, she was accepting the fact that she would end up—"

"She can't." Ienzo cut off. "She can't just accept that so easily! Everyone would eventually die, but…she just can't accept death so easily! She has her friends, a warm home…things I can't remember until she found me! Why would such a kind girl like her…even think such a thing?"

"It's because she acknowledges the fact that all things would come to an end." He answered. "She wants to spare herself the pain of having the bond with each of you severed. Whenever she would find herself in a situation such as this, she would consider this fact."

In the blink of an eye, Ienzo was brought to the position he found himself in as soon as the conversation started. "Why did you want me to reconsider my decision? And how do you know Sakuya-san?" Ienzo asked hesitantly.

"It was the price of the wish that I was worried about." The figure sighed, "I'm pretty sure you're okay with paying the price. And…to answer your last question…" He turned around, and took off the mask. He looked almost identical to Yukina save for a more masculine, but still somewhat feminine face and shoulder-length hair. "…I'm the brother that saved your life a few months back."

* * *

(_I found my back pressed against the rock hard-cement and I had no idea of what just happened. I fell, but I can't remember being in the air. And…Ienzo-kun…)_

"Yuki!" Yukina heard Larxene shout as she ran over to her side. "Talk to me kid! Are you alright!?" Larxene asked as she made Yukina sit up. "I really hope that lousy bookworm of a boyfriend didn't do anything stupid, did he!? If he did, you can count on me to give him a visible black eye!"

"N-No no, Onee-chan!" Yukina waved her arms around frantically. "I'm pretty sure Ienzo-kun was the one that saved me!" She stood up with weary legs and looked around. "Perhaps we should go look for him!"

"Good to see you're okay…" Larxene sighed as she turned around to see suspicious faces. "What the hell are you all looking at!?"

"We're just…weirded out." Marluxia awkwardly replied. "It's so odd too see you so caring. Whatever happened to the 'Savage Nymph'? And then there was that time—"

"It's impossible to not be concerned when you have an idiot like her around!" She pointed with an embarrassed look. "Oh look, I see the moronic bookworm!" Larxene shouted as she unsubtly changed the subject.

Ienzo was walking away from the scene and headed towards the park's entrance/exit. Yukina ran forward and caught his sleeve even with lack of sufficient air in her lungs. She smiled with unsteady breaths as Ienzo turned around. However, Ienzo shook her hand away and bowed.

"I have to apologize for having wasted your time. If it's okay, I'll just…cut off the date here and see you tomorrow." Then he proceeded to walk off towards the exit, with an apathetic look across his face, giving no indication that he was caught up in a life-or-death situation. Ienzo silently left, and when Larxene caught up to Yukina, the white-haired girl was standing there in pure shock of what just happened. Not being able to interact with others until a short time ago had a heavy price.

"Ienzo-kun…what happened when I fell?" Yukina asked in vain as she watched him leave. "But Ienzo-kun…! I have to ask you—" Suddenly, her legs became weak enough for them to give way right out from underneath from underneath her. As she collapsed, she had the strong urge to close her eyes. (_But…I have to catch up…I have to tell him…_)

"Yuki!?" Larxene shouted as Yukina fell victim to the sleep attack. "What the hell happened to you, kid!?"

* * *

(_I'm not really sure what happened last night. I know I could remember some things, like how I left Ienzo-baka to take care of Yuki-chan, sure. But then I saw Yuki-chan fall, but she came out fine a few minutes later. Then Ienzo-baka went off and started acting like an emo again. It's really stupid…and frustrating_.)

Demyx pondered over what could fill up that blank spot in his memory, as well as walk back and forth in the hall in front of Yukina's room. He alternated between walking, playing his sitar, and playing around with Kimaru. He was restless, as well as shiftless, which led him to believe that a few minutes without something happening was about an hour in his standards.

Then Ienzo walked by.

"Good morning, Demyx," Ienzo greeted half-heartedly. After seeing Demyx look in his direction he continued. "I take it that you're waiting for Sakuya-san to wake up." He received a silent and uneasy nod from the nocturne before leaning back against the wall. "Do you think that while changes are needed, they feel so drastic that it's frustrating?"

"Hell, I feel that way all the time." Demyx smirked. "But why are you asking that now? Wait a—Yuki-chan dumped you didn't she!? Great! Now she can be my girlfriend!" Demyx made excessive motions as he continued with his childish rants, but he did not receive the response from the bookworm that he wanted. "Aren't you going to say something smart and complicated that would make me pissed?"

"What's your point?" Ienzo scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I started up this conversation to ask you something that I desperately need the answer to." He looked down at Demyx, making sure that his attention was undivided. "What does Yukina Sakuya mean to you?"

"She's my 'soon-to-be-girlfriend!'" Demyx blurted out unintelligently. "You're asking me that just because you're upset, isn't it?"

"Talk like someone who knows what's going on for once," Ienzo retorted sternly. "If you want to go be an idiot, go play actor somewhere else. But if you want to actually stay in this conversation answer my damn question." Demyx saw something in Ienzo's eyes, as if ever since last night they had gained…

_(…an almost 'nobody-like' feeling. Ienzo's always the first to know about something important; he did that for a long time. But now…it's as if he's seeing right through me! This is what his eyes were…before Yuki-chan came along. What's different about him?_) "Wh-What are you talking about, Ienzo? It's…it's not as if m-_my_ opinion's changed or…something." Demyx stuttered, unable to comprehend the sudden—almost drastic—change in Ienzo's persona. (_M-Maybe if I just tell him, this uneasy feeling would go away…_) Demyx did his best to regain his cheerful mien and tried to answer as he normally would. "W-Well, Yuki-chan is important to us. It's mostly because of her personality. She's nice, and she always does what she can for everyone, even if it isn't much."

"Maybe it's more than that," Ienzo added, easily understanding what Demyx had in his head. "You just said that she does what she can for everyone, but everyone doesn't swoon for her just because of her kindness. She's made a difference in our lives—that much is true, however, you do what you can to get her attention. Why is that so?"

"If you want the answer to that, then go ask yourself that," Demyx answered confidently.

"I'm not some immature 'Melodious Nocturne,'" Ienzo asked as he impatiently awaited Demyx's straightforward answer like a child waiting for his parents' answer to "impossible" questions. Ienzo suddenly heard a yelp from his left, and actually took a second thought for him to know if it was Demyx or Kimaru the chocobo. With a sigh, he looked over and saw that Demyx's death-like grip on the chocobo's neck baffled him. (_Look's like it could be either of them, not that it matters much_.)

"H-How...do you…" Demyx's disturbed look would almost lead one to believe as if he was watching a horror movie. (_How the hell did Ienzo-baka know my title? Someone could have told him…but how would he know that we would have titles in the first place?! And, he's looking more and more like the nobody he was years ago…_) This mental statement had caused Demyx to briefly remember what it was when he first met Zexion on the nocturne's own first day. Despite his short stature, his sapphire blue eyes remained cold and unfeeling, even more so than most nobodies, especially in Vexen's case. The tension was always thick around him, and now the tension was similar to this very moment as if the past had come back to haunt him out of punishment for his ignorance.

"Your possessed panda doll is the reason for all of this," Ienzo said to answer Demyx's incomplete question. "That accursed…thing opens all sorts of windows doesn't it?" Ienzo watched Kimaru as it ran over to his side and pecked at his bracelet; something that was there from the beginning. He bent down and stroked the top of his head while Kimaru cooed affectionately.

"I hate how your transitions between 'prying bastard' and 'natural idiot' always catches me off guard!" Demyx shouted in a frustration fashion as he stood up immediately. "And what does Mr. Dan-Dan have to do with this? I haven't seen him for like, seven chapters."

Ienzo was about to open his mouth to speak, however the door opened and revealed a newly awakened white haired maiden whose hair wasn't fixed in the slightest. What was originally the answer to Demyx's question was turned into the usual morning greeting of "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Sakuya-san." After not seeing a visible reaction, his countenance slightly changed to reveal a rather miniscule measure of depression. "I'll be downstairs if you need me," he added curtly, giving the indication that he was hurt.

Yukina's eyes widened suddenly as she grabbed a hold of Kimaru and rushed up to Ienzo quickly to undo her mistake of ignoring him. She abruptly stopped in front of him, and Ienzo was stopped in his tracks, he was surprised of her reaction to his leave. "I'm really sorry for not greeting you back! I was just kind of sleepy! Hey, umm…I have to ask you something…during breakfast, so I just have to know if you have anything planned…today."

"I have to do something today," Ienzo answered briefly. He watched Yukina sink her head as she carried Kimaru away. "Hey, I meant that I was going to eat breakfast," Ienzo smirked as he walked past her.

"Oh, um…right!" Yukina speedily caught up and walked beside Ienzo, not paying attention to a discouraged Demyx.

"I love Yukina because she's unconditionally accepting. You're practically the opposite, so why does she pay so much attention to you?"

* * *

"Ohaiyo gozaimasu, everyone!" Yukina greeted everyone as they looked at her direction. She started wondering why everyone was staring at her with smirks and snickers. "Why is everyone acting like they're keeping a secret?"

"It's not so much of a secret…" Larxene pointed out as she stifled laughter. "Your hair looks like it lost the fight with your pillow. Your charm is degraded by your bed hair."

"Bed hair!?" After looking at a lock of her hair up-close, she did her best to smoothen out her hair with her hands, but to no avail. "D-Does anyone have a comb on hand?" She asked as she tried to solve the messy tangles in her hair. After she saw everyone go back to minding his or her own business, she sighed as she frantically rushed to the nearest bathroom.

"In a completely unrelated matter, I want everyone to wish me luck on my driving test today," Saix said as he stood up from his seat.

"Wait a—when the hell did you want to drive!?" Axel shouted angrily, still begrudged about Saix even after the dispute settled down.

"I've wanted to drive ever since these antic's of everyone were close to driving me insane. I would hope that by driving somewhere, I would have some time for myself." Saix's words fell on suspicious ears as Axel scowled his way. Then Saix sighed, "I'm also worried for Yukina; I don't really want her to be walking to her high school without someone watching her."

Axel smirked evilly, "You're either an overprotective father or an unsubtle stalker."

"You vulgar-minded red porcupine!"

"Those two bicker so much that it leaves me no time for conversation. I feel left out of the loop. I could at least mediate their arguments, yet they toss words back and forth like Larxene's knives…" Roxas mumbled continuously as he listened to pieces of the argument. Eyes drifting throughout the room, he spotted Yukina looking triumphant, as she now had perfectly straightened out hair. "I take it that your hair is easy to manage?" Roxas asked as she sat down.

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no…" Yukina looked over to a bored Ienzo. "Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to go somewhere with me and a few others today. Do you have anything planned?"

"Depends. Where are we going?" Roxas asked as he saw that Axel was currently struggling to get out of Saix's armlock.

"Well, I was thinking that we could all go flower viewing by a cherry blossom garden out of the city. Spring is the best time for such an event!" Yukina smiled warmly as she clasped her hands together. "We get to have a picnic under a large cherry blossom tree, and we could even take relaxing walks. If we're lucky, we might even be able to view some of them at night!"

(_Her happiness…it's so unreal…that it's unnerving_.) Roxas lightly blushed at her endearing smile, and wondered if that was how Ienzo felt when he's around her. "Well…I guess I could go."

Saix was now pulling on one of Axel's spikes and intended to keep it that way until Axel surrendered. He was listening in on Yukina's invitation, and decided to tag along when the time came.

"Okay! Okay! I give! I give!" Saix heard from on top of him, and was surprised to see that he was still holding on to Axel's hair. Reluctant to let his suffering stop, Saix sighed as he finally let go of the red porcupine's hair. "Damn…I could understand you having an 'iron grip' but literally? DAMN THAT HURT!"

"Axel, do us all a favor and shut the hell up," Marluxia spoke as he didn't mind Axel's further reactions. He strode over to Yukina's spot and held her hand gingerly. "Lady Yukina I would be honored to accompany you to your flower viewing in all of its splendor!" He half-expected everyone to stare at him, substituting the threats of burning down his garden flower by flower. Instead, they all continued normally.

"Oh…thank you, Marluxia-chan. I guess I have room for only one more person then, seeing as I have six tickets only." Yukina shrugged. But then the color was drained from her face as she realized something. "I'll go prepare the picnic basket! I forgot all about that! What's flower viewing without a picnic! And I even forgot the food itself!" Yukina frantically put on her shoes and rushed out the door without another word, something everyone saw at least twice while they were residents in the large building.

(_Wait…I'm going later. Marluxia and Roxas said that they were accompanying Yukina as well. It's definite that Yukina would drag a possibly reluctant Ienzo, which makes five people. Supposing I'm that one last person, who is the one other that Yukina wanted to bring along_?) Saix wondered as he eyed the group from his cup of coffee. What caught his eye was an apathetic Ienzo in the corner of the large room. (_What changed in Ienzo since last night? He's more distant than usual, and he didn't bother to join in on the conversation. He's just staring out the window. Has he realized something we all kept away from him? Whatever it is, I just hope that it doesn't affect us too negatively_.) He observed Yukina through the window and turned back to his cup when the last strand of gleaming white hair disappeared.

(_I didn't think I was left off so easily.)_ Yukina thought to herself as she strolled along the sidewalk. (_I already prepared the basket yesterday before I went off to kendo practice. I just have to tell that one nameless person where we're going and that'll be it. I'm pretty sure the others would be thrilled to meet someone new for a change_!)

* * *

The nameless figure sat on the park bench same as he always did for the past few weeks. As far as knew, the people around him were aware of his presence and yet they avoided and passed by him; they obviously didn't care what happened to him. (_That girl…thinks differently_.) Almost as if on cue, Yukina ran in his direction waving to him with an absent-minded smile.

"Good morning!" Yukina energetically greeted him. "How are things so far?"

"What…'things?'" He asked irritably.

"Well…I was trying to see if your loneliness could possibly be connected to some problems you might have," Yukina explained, her eyes wandering in different directions while doing so. When she was met by a baffled look upon the anonymous man's face, she sat down beside him and began again. "Well, the general stuff is what I'm referring to. You know, if people treated you badly, if people don't like you for any apparent reason, something that happened years ago…stuff like that. I was hoping to see if things got better for you. If not, I still have to pray for you then."

"You're willing to pray for someone like me?" He asked. He closed his eyes and took out a cigarette while adding, "You must be one hell of an idiot. Praying doesn't do a single thing."

"Praying does a lot, actually." Yukina responded happily. "If you keep your hopes high, things will get better no matter what situation you're in. And…" Yukina was about to keep going until she saw that the man beside her had already started smoking the cigarette. She snatched the cigarette out of his hands and threw into the trashcan a few feet away. "Hey! Smoking's bad for you! You'll get a shorter life that way!"

His eyebrows were angled downwards, showing discontent at the act, but they eased up and his thin lips formed into a smirk. "Funny. No one has ever been concerned for my well-being in the slightest." He stared and looked at the white haired girl, whose countenance changed from being surprised to somewhat content with his choice of words. "You really must be either an idiot or unconditionally compassionate to everyone."

"Well…you haven't been meeting the right people," Yukina reasoned, face still beaming with cheerfulness from the inside and out. "I've been through my share of sadness and depression in my life. I know I can't possibly understand the sadness and depression of others, nor get rid of them when I want to, but I still want to do what I can to ease that pain." Yukina could almost feel tears swell at the corners of her eyes as she went on. This was something that the anonymous man noticed. "Despite the fact that a few years ago…no one has ever bothered to do the same for me, I still want the people I meet to be at ease with everything. I want to be there for whoever needs me."

"That's the reason why you wanted to help me," he stated as he finally sat upright and faced Yukina. With a smirk he added, "You do realize that any people you could help in the future probably won't thank you for it. I'm probably the same case."

"I know that," Yukina sighed as rubbed away would-be tears. "I got so off track. Other than talking to you again, I wanted to see if you could come with me and a few of my friends to go flower viewing out of the city. I made sure that we can go to a reserved spot, so we'll be having more fun!" The color drained away from her face, making her face almost as pale as her hair was white. "That is…unless…you're busy…"

"Can I avoid going with you, but still end up at the reserved site anyway?" the nameless man asked.

"O-Of course! You just need to have this ticket!" She frantically took one of the tickets out of her pocket and happily handed it over. "The charter bus would take you there and pick us up when we're all done. So…I'll be seeing you then, right?"

"I'll try my best to come along," He answered as he took the ticket. He noticed Yukina take her cyan cellphone out, and he asked, "I have a cellphone as well. Wouldn't it be easier to talk to me using those?"

Yukina stopped her call from proceeding, and closed the lid. She stared at it and then turned back to her friend. "If we did that, then our conversations wouldn't be as meaningful, now would they?" She was about to run off, but she turned around and took something out of her handbag. "Oh! Before I forget, here's a quick look at each of my friends. They may seem awkward, but they make anything interesting."

She held out a picture that the group all took at Christmas. Each of them was smiling, and the man simply scanned every little detail of the picture. "Do you…mind if I keep this?" he asked casually.

"Of course!" Yukina replied. "You know, all of my friends seem happy with the way they're living right now, and I am too."

* * *

"WHAAAAAAT!?" Axel roared in Saix's face. The idea of a possible chance to spy on Ienzo's and Yukina's possible 'couple moment' being thwarted away by a lack of tickets had ticked Axel off by all means. That, coupled along with the fact that Roxas had accepted the invitation without asking Axel to come with them had the weight of a boulder being thrown at him at high speeds. "GIVE ME YOUR STUPID TICKET!!"

"If you couldn't reclaim your hair, then you certainly can't claim this ticket from me," Saix smirked as he kept the ticket out of Axel's reach. "You're either hard of hearing or you have a hard head. Either way, it sucks to be you." Saix dodged Axel's attempts of punching him with great agility and was careful to not make Axel hit anything. (_Maybe I should make him break something expensive or at least something that belongs to Larxene…_)

As Yukina walked through the front doors of the lobby, she was confused as to what was going on. "Umm…the bus will be arriving in one hour…" she started tentatively as she twiddled around with her fingers. Then she summoned up the courage to ask everyone in the hall, "Are there any problems?"

"Problems…" Axel started off slowly. "DAMN RIGHT THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS!!" Suddenly there was a blanket of flame engulfing Axel, and there would have been trouble containing it. However, the sprinklers were activated and the fire slowly died. "Dammit…"

"Sorry Axel-kun…" Yukina opened up an umbrella and made sure that it shielded Axel. "I apologize that there aren't any tickets left for you, but maybe you can come along next year!" She smiled, to which Axel growled.

"Just make sure you don't do anything of importance," Axel scowled. "How long will you be gone?"

"There's a relatively small hotel at the spot that I reserved for us, so we'll be staying there overnight. We'll get back here by tomorrow morning, maybe noon!" Yukina answered, oblivious to Axel's depression.

"There won't be anything entertaining around here for that long…" Axel sighed, discouraged by how long the group would be away. "There's hardly anything interesting on TV anymore…" He continued to mumble to himself while everyone except Yukina overlooked his distress.

"There's a nice little Shinto documentary that I wanted to record, so while it's recording you could watch it and see if you like it…" Yukina suggested nonchalantly while Axel was still clinging onto his brooding fit. "Poor Axel-kun…" When the sprinklers had stopped, Yukina closed the umbrella and stared at it for a few seconds, blinking. "OH NOOOOOOOO!!"

"What the hell's wrong!?" Ienzo shouted as he rushed into the room, still somewhat aloof concerned nonetheless. "I heard Yukina scream! Something's gotta be wrong if she can scream that high!" Ienzo scanned the room casually, returning to his detached air. Then his hand collided solidly with his forehead as he saw Yukina fretting over the umbrella. "What is it? The umbrella has a hole in it?"

"N-No…" Yukina hung her head over in depression as she realized her mistake. "It's several years of bad luck to open up an umbrella indoors…" Yukina then went into the same brooding air that Axel had assumed only moments ago. "I don't want to be cursed…"

Roxas brought down his things in a small bag and he looked over the highlights of the moment. However, there wasn't any as no one was talking, nor were they doing anything of any real importance. "Wow. There's so much emo in here, it's stifling."

"I prefer 'depressed antisocial', thank you very much, Chocobo-head," Ienzo replied, to Roxas' chagrin. "Saix always seems to accompany trouble, so he's coming with us. Chocobo-head has a bag, so he's accompanying us as well. Hanami is flower viewing, so of course Marluxia's coming along. To whom does the last ticket belong to?" Ienzo asked, switching his attention over to Yukina.

"A friend of mine will meet up with us over by the reserve, so I gave him the last ticket," Yukina explained. "At the very least, he's kind of shy, but I hope that we'll all have a great time at the reserve!" Yukina raised her hands up in the air cheerfully, celebrating the start of their adventure, or—at the very least—their picnic.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Larxene screamed piercingly throughout the room, much louder and more vociferously than what Yukina shouted minutes ago. She twitched involuntarily as she stared at the water coating the floor in front of her. "Who…the…hell…drenched…the…god...damn…floor?" Larxene asked in a surprisingly and eerily calm voice.

"Onee-chan!" Yukina exclaimed, concerned over Larxene's hydrophobia. "Just use these!" Yukina confidently held a pair of rubber boots in front of Larxene as the latter just stared. If you don't want your feet to get wet, these will surely protect you!"

Reluctantly, Larxene took them and put them on. She held a confident and triumphant face when she learned that the rubber boots had indeed protected her from shorting out. "Oh, by the way, Yuki, what are the tickets for?" Yukina explained gingerly, and the color from her face was drained away when she found out that she wasn't coming along. "This is a perfect opportunity to see how the relationship is coming along, and this chance is taken away. This sucks…a whole lot."

"And the emo count rises to four," Roxas reported shamelessly as four pairs of eyes drifted his way, only one of them not filled with the desire to hit Roxas with the nearest object.

"Someday I'll pluck out every single feather off that chocobo's little head…" Larxene chuckled to herself in a spine-chilling manner. "It's a shame I can't do it over the weekend…" Larxene went over the picnic-goers in her head and she realized something. "Hold the phone! Everyone coming along with Yuki is a guy! YOU VILE OGRES!!" Larxene shouted out loud for everyone to hear. "Saix! Give me your ticket!"

"Why should I?" Saix asked.

"I think the real question is 'why shouldn't you?'" Larxene grinned evilly, for unknown good intentions. "We are currently on a shortage of food in this building, and I think that the residents are sure to get animalistic if they don't get anything in their stomachs should we run out! Seeing as you're the only one who can drive, I'm pretty sure that the only one left to retrieve food items for us is you! So you shall not go flower viewing with us! And there's no way I'm leaving Yuki in the hands of incompetent men, especially the bookworm!"

"Larxene is right," Ienzo agreed plainly despite the unsubtle insult. "Saix shouldn't go with us."

"I guess you're right," Saix sighed.

"Do not fear our dear Saix~!" Marluxia cheered as he threw his arm over Saix's shoulder. "I shall bring a lovely invention called a video camera to record everything for posterity! You shan't miss a single second of our adventure! All is not lost for neglected souls such as yourself, for I, the wonderful, elegant, beautiful, and most of all graceful Marluxia will be there!"

"Say another word Marluxia and I will tell Ienzo and Yukina every little embarrassing thing you did ever since I met you," Saix threatened the flamboyant assassin.

Axel spat out a large handful of swear words, leading everyone to ignore him. Yukina felt a little embarrassed that everyone was making such a fuss about whether or not someone was going or not. Despite the constant clashing opinions, she was enjoying herself. However, her happiness was slowly chipped away as she saw Ienzo's detached look upon his face as he was continuously staring out the window. (_I hope it's not anything from last night that upset him…_)

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Yukina asked as she looked over her accompaniments. Roxas didn't seem to be paying attention because he had headphones on and was making random hand motions to go along with the music. Marluxia had a rose in hand and was talking to Larxene, but she was trying to ignore him by reading over Ienzo's shoulder. Ienzo wasn't bothered and still kept his nose in the book he was quickly going through; every minute or so he would turn the page, leaving Larxene confused as to what happened before. "Oh well. I'll just take that as an 'OK.'"

Larxene got fed up with Ienzo's 'reading faster than a speeding bullet', and decided to go look for their charter bus. "Any idea what the bus looks like, Yuki?"

"My former adopted family had a very high social and political standing. We got to travel in luxurious charter buses all the time. I was traveling all over Tokyo and even the country for various reasons," Yukina explained, lacking detail, but making her point clear. "I'll be happy to tell you guys when the bus shows up, but we have to be patient nonetheless." Yukina entertained the thought for a few more moments, concluding with, "Come to think of it, I've only been to two flower viewings because most of the family thought that things like this were too trivial for my upbringing…"

"Cripes…kid, don't turn me into an emo," Larxene asked of Yukina as the former started shaking her head back and forth to shoo away the depressing thoughts in her head. "Listen, just tell me if you have any problems. You can tell me, but kept it as simple as possible."

"Onee-chan's always trying to help me out," Yukina started. "Thank you for being there for me." Yukina bowed, much to Larxene's annoyance.

"Stop making me feel like such an urchin you little idiot!" Larxene shouted angrily as grinded her fist against Yukina's head in an annoyed manner. "I don't need that formal fancy crap! Act like a normal little teenager for once!"

"I'm pretty sure we've established your being upset with her," Ienzo timely intervened. He knocked away Larxene's hand from further grinding away at Yukina's head. "Go harass someone your own size."

"If I ever did go by that rule, then I would never have the chance to pick on you," Larxene teased as she compared their heights. "Wait a—when the hell did you gain three inches!?" She shouted when she noticed the smaller height gap.

"from the beginning I have noticed that I was gruesomely under-height," Ienzo began. Then he continued with a devilish smirk across his face, "However, I take afternoon naps and drink six glasses of milk every day! My height shall soon skyrocket and I shall never be harassed by people that are currently taller than me! Take that, cruel world!" Ienzo shouted out.

"Onee-chan, did Ienzo-kun grab a hold of Xigbar-san's alcohol?"

"As far as we know, everyone's insane. It hardly makes a difference whether or not someone's drunk in this makeshift dysfunctional family."

"Holy woooooow~!" Roxas stated as soon as he saw the shadow of a vehicle pull up beside them. "This is a luxury charter bus! It's not bigger than all the buses I've seen but hell this thing must cost hell of a lot of money!"

"It seems that fate has delivered its fruit onto our dear white-haired maiden," Marluxia started ever-flamboyantly. He held Yukina's hand gingerly with two of his own, annoying everyone to a great extent. "Our poor neglected Yuki-chan has been through much, however, she shall reap the benefits of this world filled with paupers! There is only the best for our precious Yuki-chan~!"

"Keep going and all you'll be getting from me is the worst," Larxene threatened with a clenched fist.

"Hey, Yuki," Roxas cut in. "Is your adopted family seriously this fancy that you get to ride in these all the time? If so, then have them adopt me sometime soon," He smiled as he started in on a sea-salty ice cream bar.

They all loaded onto the bus, and at the same time they gawked at the inside of the private charter bus. Comfortable seating, large windows to gaze at the countryside views, and a small television for entertainment was what the charter bus contained. Indeed, "only the best" for Yukina. The white-haired girl was hoping to see a bigger reaction from Ienzo, but all she saw from him were barely widened eyes and a few solid blinks of the eyelids.

(_I really hope that Ienzo-kun will at least enjoy himself. There's nothing much I can do to understand what he's feeling, but I want to at least help him out_…)

As soon as the bus started moving Roxas eyed Yukina's awkward fidgeting when Ienzo sat down next to her. (_If this were a soap opera, then this would take at least twenty episodes. I thought Ienzo started becoming less emo, but I guess all that progress was for nothing_.) Quickly discarding the popsicle stick, he started reading a travel brochure out of boredom, seeing as Marluxia and Larxene were bound to argue over the television channel and he would, once again, have no say in the matter. His eyes drifted from sentence to sentence of travel discounts, but then something caught his eye. "Is it really true that there could be treasure buried underneath cherry blossom trees?"

"It's common belief actually," Yukina started to explain in detail. "It all started with the samurai in the Edo period. Cherry blossoms, known as sakura, were commonly associated with warriors known as samurai. Guess how they were originally connected," Yukina suggested. "Marluxia-chan, I'll give you a hint: samurai strongly respected nature."

"Perhaps these warriors were known for their skill and elegance of shedding blood on the battlefield!" Marluxia shouted as he made a star-struck pose. After receiving a few shaking heads from the others, including Yukina, he sat back down and twiddled around with his fingers. "I honestly have no idea. You tell me, Yuki-chan…"

"Because samurai had such strong ties with nature, the warriors were actually buried underneath cherry blossom trees when they were slain in battle by other samurai!" Yukina said cheerfully while she clapped her hands together, unaware of the foreboding effect the statement had on them. "Believe it or not, there are still some reports of people finding bones underneath some trees, even now!"

"It would've been interesting then," Roxas joined in, to everyone's surprise. "We should've brought shovels so that we could try to find or bury something. That definitely beats sitting around doing nothing."

"Chocobo-head, sitting around was what we were going to do in the first place. Why did you volunteer to come along anyway?" Larxene asked irritably.

"I had nothing else to do. If it was just left at that, then I wanted to at least die of boredom somewhere else," Roxas answered as curled up against one of the pillows.

"That's…reassuring?" Yukina replied. She suddenly spotted the pink-haired gardener slowly inching away into the corner of the vehicle. "Marluxia, I noticed that you brought along gardening tools. Did you bring along multiple shovels?"

"Err…yes…"

"Then we shall all look for buried treasure underneath the cherry blossoms as soon as we get there!" Yukina declared without voiced consent from the others.

* * *

((_One question remains….WILL THEY SURVIVE THE EXPERIENCE!? Chances are, they wouldn't. Feh. Well, I decided that I'm going to continue writing anyway, even if my readers cease to review. At least I have the people that still have this story on their alert list. I still have to thank my readers anyway, even if some of them didn't stick around for very long. I apologize if my lack of skill as a writer has driven them away. Either way, thank you for reading, and for the rest of you, stick around for the next chapter! Arigato! Ja ne, minna_!))


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The group exited the luxurious charter bus and sank in their surroundings. Marluxia was obviously happy with the many cherry blossom trees surrounding him and tried to goad Roxas into following his example while he was snacking on a sea-salty ice cream. Larxene was closely observing Yukina's actions and sighed when the white-haired girl failed to get any real response from Ienzo. Ienzo closed his book and looked at the inn they were staying at.

"Why does this building so old-fashioned in terms of architecture?" Ienzo questioned Yukina about the relatively small building in front of them. "I can see several small cracks on the walls, then there's the half-empty koi pond, along with the assorted bonsai trees. How long ago was this built?"

"Well…" Yukina tentatively twiddled her fingers as she dwelled on the answer. "This building was built about thirty to forty years ago…and because of its deteriorating state, few people have actually come to this place." She sighed and bowed. "I'm terribly sorry if it would inconvenience you. I just considered this place because no one else had actually reserved the building. I thought that maybe all of you would be more comfortable without strangers around."

"Our beloved Yuki-chan shall never cry, except for tears of joy!" Marluxia shouted as he unsubtly smacked Ienzo on the head, much to the latter's irritation. "This building looks just as good as new and this provides with plenty of time to view these…cherry blossoms you said? Anyway, we are all very content with your wise decision!"

Rubbing his newly made bruise on the back of his head, he glared angrily at Marluxia, who wasn't paying him any attention to him. Yukina on the other hand was giving a soft smile, just as she always was. Maybe she couldn't help Ienzo with his problem the way she helped out Saix, but she still felt helpless. He was actually warming up to the company before, but now it seemed as if he had shut out all emotion. The personality of Ienzo when she first met him seemed more appealing than the personality of Ienzo now. (No. I can't give up on Ienzo-kun this easily. I'll do whatever it takes to help him. Even if it's barely noticeable, I want to at least do something that will make a difference.) She clasped her hands together as she closed her eyes. Yukina wanted her efforts to be of use.

As if sensing the mix of both hope and despair within the white-haired girl, Roxas went on to asking, "Marluxia, whoever said that Yuki was going to cry?"

Yukina straightened up, but loosened her posture and smiled instinctively. It may seem superficial, but appealing to others wholeheartedly came naturally. She turned around to the others and gave them a thumbs up.

"Maybe we should just kill off Marluxia now and bury his body under the cherry blossoms. That way he can view the flowers any time that he wants," Ienzo calmly suggested as he turned a page of his book. When he noticed the silence, he went ahead and decided to enter the building.

"Well, that was certainly awkward." Larxene commented. "Ever since last night, the li'l bookworm went off and became an even bigger ass!" She kicked around some dirt until she took note of Yukina's shocked expression. "Hey, Yuki, did something happen on that date of yours? I know that the heartless attacked and all but…damn! And speaking of which, Demyx has been acting strange too…"

"I'm just…confused," Yukina answered as she followed Ienzo in. "Maybe…we all are."

Marluxia, Larxene and Roxas exchanged glances at each other and went inside anyway. The interior of the old-fashioned inn was just as out-of-place as the outside, but no one had said a word concerning the condition, not wanting to worsen Yukina's mood. Marluxia was just happy that he had perfect view of the cherry blossoms from his window. The whole time, Larxene had the increasing urge to punch Ienzo in the face no matter how much it would have hurt any of them. Both she and Roxas knew that something was wrong with Ienzo. Yukina on the other hand, was—for the first time—unconcerned with what went on with the other three, and was focusing on the teenager walking in front of her, her eyes filling with distress at what could possibly be troubling him.

"The hell's up with you two!?" Larxene shouted as she ran up and grabbed Yukina and Ienzo by the back of their collars. "Honestly, Yukina's acting as if she just went to Demyx's funeral and Ienzo's acting as if someone beat him in chess. Whatever the hell's going on in your closed minds, you got to straighten it out or I'll straighten it out for you!"

"O-Onee-s-san! Is—is it that bad that you have to be so assertive about it?" Yukina asked, worried. "I-I'm pretty sure Ienzo-kun can straighten it out himself. It's just that he's a little on…the rocks?" Yukina weakly smiled at Ienzo, but to little avail.

"Larxene, it really is none of your concern. We can all solve our own problems, I assure you," Ienzo sad to Larxene as he walked into his room and shut the door.

Ienzo was partial to solitude, especially if everyone else had no need for him. The only suitable companions he wanted at the time were his bags, heavy with hardcover books. He dropped his belongings on the floor and opened up the dusty window. He knew that there was no escaping Yukina. If the "early" Zexion were asked what Yukina meant to him, he wouldn't even speak a word. He would only give a shrug of indifference and turn the page of a book. But if Ienzo were asked that same question, he wouldn't know what answer to give.

"I'm sorry Sakuya-san, but your safety is more important than your happiness." He solemnly whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"GAH!" Zexion spun around, his heart beating rapidly. But there was no need for alarm because it was only Roxas at the door. Coughing a few times before regaining composure, he managed to give Roxas a small chuckle. "Roxas, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Yukina can only pay so much…" Roxas answered. "She could only afford five rooms, and Larxene insisted that you should stay away from Yukina at this time." Roxas saw Ienzo's head turn to another corner of the room. "She said that she wanted Yukina to be able to talk to her before she could talk to you."

Ienzo's body froze when he heard that, and his mouth opened, but no words came out. Instead, he simply sank to the floor and leaned his head against the wall. "Roxas, I hate to admit this, but other than me, I think you're the most level-headed out of all of us." He scratched the back of his head in irritation and sighed, "I hate it when any of my farces are seen through."

"Your indifference to Yukina is hurting her, you realize?" Roxas insinuated as he sat down beside Ienzo, holding a sea-salty ice cream in front of him. "As the proverb goes 'a healthy body hosts a healthy spirit.' If you're being cold to her, then that's no better than leaving her to fend for herself." Roxas stared out the window. "If you were really her friend, then you would know as much." Then he gave a slight chuckle and bit out a large chunk of his ice cream. "Of course, I'm saying this from experience. Axel and I have been through a lot more than you realize."

"Is…that…right?" Ienzo asked as he watched his ice cream start dripping. He nibbled a bit of the ice cream and stared at it.

He can certainly see why Roxas was addicted to the flavor.

* * *

"So! Sai-chan! How are things over there with the unsupervised satanic red porcupine?" Marluxia asked, as giddy as ever as he gazed out the window. "The flowers here are absolutely amazing! If it was on my list of favorite flowers, it's at the same level of roses! It could maybe even be higher!"

"_Marluxia, I was waiting for your call. I was hoping you called over for something important." _Saix said as he talked into his cellphone. _"But if you must, Axel hasn't burned anything. I have a feeling that—"_

"Oh come now, Sai-chan!" Marluxia giggled. "The only person you've ever bothered to open up to is Yuki-chan! Try opening up and things will go your way!"

"_Dammit! Stop living in your little flowery world and be realistic!" _Saix shouted as he hit the wall with the side of his fist. _"I have a feeling that Xemnas may be the one other guest that she's invited. It's always been in his nature to deceive people and Yukina would be the last person he'd make an exception to! At first…I'd thought of sitting this out, but when we both hang up the phone, I'll be over there as soon as possible. Most likely, he's aiming to finish what he started. He'd delude Yukina into thinking they're friends and strike when you least expect it! We can't let that happen! "_

"Methinks you're being a little _anxious_," Marluxia suggested. "Are you sure you just don't want revenge for what he's done to you?" He leaned against the wall, and listened to the silence for a few moments. "I understand that you're concerned for Yukina's sake, but for every thorn there is a rose. Surely Yukina has seen what good Xemnas has in him. I'm not saying that we should let our guard down, but you should certainly lighten up about all this. And if I'm no mistaken, you should be just as guilty for sticking with him for so long."

"_I didn't torture a girl until she had a mental breakdown. If it wasn't for Ienzo—"_

"Ding-dong! That's the answer!" Marluxia shouted happily. "Ienzo has certainly become more of a thorn in our sides ever since last night, but we should put a little if not most of our trust in him. Ever since Yuki-chan came along, he became the kind of person that would not take something like this sitting down."

"_I hope you're right about all of that. Either way, I'll still get over there as soon as I can."_

"Yes, yes. I know that _you _won't take this sitting down of course. By the say, Sai-chan, I was wondering about something…"

* * *

"Onee-chan, am I burden to you?" Yukina asked as she lied flat on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Ienzo-kun and Demyx-nii have been avoiding me ever since last night. If…if any of you feel the same, I'll be happy to do something about it!"

"Damn, that little bookworm's sure as hell giving the wrong impression here…" Larxene growled to herself. She turned back to Yukina, who wore a rather confused expression. "Listen, Yuki, Ienzo's being emo and all that, so he really just needs space to figure things out for himself. Just like I told you before I got into these cra—I mean, _quaint_ little rooms." Larxene looked at various other corners of the room, wondering what to say next. "Well…uh…let's…just…err…put it this way…" Larxene sighed. "It's kind of like teenage angst, so in a way, Ienzo's pretty much going through puberty all over again. Damn, that sounded so much better in my head…"

Yukina grinned at Larxene as she ranted on about what to say. "Onee-chan, thank you for your words. I'll just have to let Ienzo-kun and Demyx-nii sort this out on their own…" Then she clenched a fist and waved it around in the air. "But if they can't solve it on their own, then I'll give them that push that they need!"

"Yeah! That's more like it!" Larxene said as she mussed up Yukina's hair. "If you need anything else, I'll be more than happy to give you a penny for your thoughts!" Casually, she leaned her elbow on Yukina's shoulder and sighed at the cherry blossoms out the window. "Now that I think about it, I can see why Marluxia likes these things."

"These flowers only bloom for a short amount of time, so it's a reward for those who are patient enough for the flowers to bloom." Her voice faltered as she realized a subtle metaphor.

Her thoughts were then brought back to last night, seeing Ienzo occasionally smile and have a determined look on his face when he saved her life. Then she thought about Demyx, who was being so concerned about her state of mind. She was truly grateful to the both of them, but she felt her heart skip a beat when she reminded herself that it was her in the first place that made them return to a defensive state of mind. "Both Demyx-nii and Ienzo-kun are like these trees. Maybe I represent the winter that forces them to hide their flowers. I'm the cause of everything bad that's happening…"

"Don't blame yourself, kid." The blond girl commented as she lightly pushed her companion. "Things will turn out right eventually. There will never be a situation that can't be solved." She gave a sarcastic smile as she realized how corny that line was.

Yukina couldn't help but smile back at the gesture.

* * *

Just as Saix had told Marluxia, he quickly jumped into a rented car, only to find out that everyone else had stowed away because he was in a hurry. Because they were in a van, there were no cramped spaces, but they were by no means getting along famously. For most of them, it was something that they had on a regular basis, but for Saix—who had lived his whole-life in near-solitude—was getting a very bad migraine. Luxord and Xigbar all managed to get in another argument, meaning that Lexaeus was supposed to "settle the matter diplomatically", with Xaldin adding fuel to the fire, leaving Axel toying with the radio, Vexen reading a book on advanced physics, and Demyx being unusually quiet, even while he was still grinning.

"Dammit…dammit…dammit…"

"Just shut up and drive you overage bishounen!" Axel shouted at Saix. "I can't understand a single word that these people on the radio are saying!"

"Let's just hear Xigbar's side of the story…"

"That cheap piece of s*** Brit conned me!"

"I've always managed to con such a simple-minded fool like yourself."

"Yes, but this time it was a rather large sum of munny now wasn't it?"

"Physics aims to describe the various phenomena that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena. Thus, this aims…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP OR I WILL TURN THIS GODDAMN CAR AROUND!!" Saix shouted in pure rage and frustration as he glared back at everyone. Much to everyone's surprise, it almost looked like he was going berserk even without a full moon in view. Saix managed to calm himself down and went back to having his eyes on the road, albeit he was angrily tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Technically speaking, this vehicle is called a van." Luxord corrected after a few miles of silence. One would have to wonder why someone should bring up the topic again, especially when they were almost close to their destination.

"Say one more word, and I will personally run you over with said vehicle." Saix growled.

"Yeah, just be quiet. I can't even hear myself think…" Demyx sighed while still keeping his cheerfully annoying persona.

"Like you're one to talk." Xaldin retorted.

"Out of the car." Saix stated solemnly as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He quickly forced his door open and jumped out of the vehicle.

"Piece of s***!" Xigbar uncouthly exclaimed as everyone followed suit.

They all jumped out of the van and landed on the nearly empty highway. As soon as everyone recovered from the landing, they saw the van erupt into flames almost instantly. Lexaeus mused as he observed everyone's reactions. (_That was no ordinary accident._) All of them save for Xaldin and Saix all had their jaws wide opened wondering how a newly rented van would suddenly explode. Xaldin was merely dusting away any dirt he might've gotten on himself, but Saix was clutching his left arm and wore a pained expression upon his face. He eyed Demyx as well, with the blonde already looking injured after just one jump.

"That bastard!" Xigbar shouted in anguish. "He knows he's on the losing side of a battle, but he's still trying to kill us off!" In frustration he kicked around some imaginary dirt on the ground, as they were still on the asphalt.

"We still need to get over to Yukina and the others to see if they're all right," Saix asserted to the exasperated group. He stared at the blazing inferno of the vehicle's remains. "If Xemnas really was the cause of all this then the more we need to hurry over and stop him before he could do something worse than simply bowing up a rented van."

"Then let's all just get a portal and meet each other over there in a few seconds or so…" Xaldin stated as he produced a portal with the wave of his hand. He walked into the portal and disappeared in a wave of darkness.

"I bid thee all a short adieu…" Luxord said as he followed suit.

One by one, the others produced portals and were well on their way to the makeshift hotel. However, the only two left behind were Demyx and Saix. They both stared at each other during an awkward silence, but was broken as Saix started walking ahead. Demyx caught up, but he didn't want to make eye contact with the scarred man. Unfortunately, instincts took over and Demyx felt the need to start up a conversation, although, this question wasn't the usual impertinent one.

"Sai-tan, it seems there's something different about you and me," Demyx started off as he took jaunty steps. "I'm pretty sure that you've noticed too, right?" Demyx couldn't see a visible reaction from Saix, yet he continued anyway. "That landing back there hurt a lot, and I'm pretty sure I got a few bruises. You look like your arm's been dislocated. Then there's—"

"I know what you'll say next, but must you really point out the obvious like a toddler?" Saix growled at Demyx. "Of course there is something 'different' about the two of us. It's a wonder that the others weren't able to get it, especially since three of them were scientists." Saix stopped walking and looked back at Demyx. "I know that I've received it little more than a while ago. What about you?"

* * *

"_Yes, yes. I know that _you_ won't take this sitting down of course. By the say, Sai-chan, I was wondering about something…" Marluxia whispered into his cellphone. "Have you received your heart?"_

"_Yes…" Saix sighed as he leaned back in his seat and leaned his head against his hand. "For all your immaturity, you at the very least one of the more sophisticated members."_

"_Never mind that," Marluxia stated. "How do you think it came about?" He continued, "It was more than just a simple Yuki-chan's presence. Did she say something to you? Did something happen to you before all that?" Marluxia smiled as he came up with one more guess. "Did she…influence you to rebel against your dear superior?"_

"_Don't you DARE_ _refer to him like that anymore!" Saix shouted into the cellphone. "Marluxia, don't screw around with me. I could care less if you resent me for this. Just know that if there's any provocation, attack him on sight. You very well know as much as I do that if I try facing him alone, I'll die."_

"_So you're worry about how Yuki would react to all this. That's the exact reason why you've called." Marluxia sighed. "Don't worry about a thing! Yuki-chan is the kind of girl to forgive someone no matter what! Whichever person starts the fight, she'll forgive that person…wholeheartedly."_

"_I don't really know what I'd do if she didn't." And with that Saix hung up his cellphone._

* * *

Saix reminisced about his conversation with Marluxia, and wondered if he was right about Xemnas turning over a new leaf. It could've been a ruse meant to trick everyone, or it could be sincere. But Saix knew that Xemnas wasn't one to give up on something so easily.

"Sai-tan, I got my heart just last night," Demyx answered. "You got your heart when you were getting to know Yuki, and I got my heart when I tried to confess my feelings towards her. At the very least, Yuki's moving us towards change, and when we change for the better—"

"Then what?"

Demyx turned around, only to feel something sharp pierce his through his gut. (_Why? Why is this happening?_) The unbearable pain, the blood forcing its way up through his throat and making him cough up the crimson liquid, and his eyes threatening to close for the last time. He gazed down at the red blade, still through him, yet unstained with his blood. Demyx slowly looked up and saw _him_, before losing consciousness.

"Nothingness will never change because it is eternal," he said in monotone. He removed his weapon from Demyx's body and left him bleeding on the ground. He looked over his shoulder and found Saix's weapon and its wielder glaring, infuriated. "Do you think that little toy would stop me?"

"Lay a hand on that girl, and I will spill every single drop of your blood!" Saix shouted. He briefly glared at Demyx and thought about the situation. (_Demyx won't last long in his state. I have to get out him out of here. But Xemnas isn't one to give up so easily…)_ He readied his weapon and it instantly clashed with Xemnas' aerial blade. Despite his efforts, he was already staggering with each strike and parry each of them landed. (_I don't have as much stamina as I had as a nobody. I have to somehow get out of this in one piece!_) He jumped in the air and tried to catch him off his guard with him in the sunlight, but this didn't work, as Xemnas quickly dodged and swiftly kicked the blue-haired man in the stomach.

"It seems you're out of practice," Xemnas taunted as Saix landed on the ground. He brought down his blade with intense force and Saix, with no other option, used his weapon as a makeshift shield.

Saix shouted in severe pain as he felt the unbelievable force of the impact was brought onto him. He felt intense pain in his right arm and every attempt to move was like feeling needles being jabbed into it. His right arm was dislocated. "Damn…you…" Saix growled at his opponent. He doubled over and clutched his right arm. Then he noticed the aerial blade in front of his head. "What…are you…going to do…to Yukina?"

"Whatever needs to be done," Xemnas replied. "She had clouded your mind and turned against me."

"I left the Organization out of my own free will and so did everyone else!" Saix shouted as he was kicked in the stomach. After coughing up a few drops of blood, he wiped it away with his left arm and glared at Xemnas. "After finding out what you would do to Kingdom Hearts, I knew that there was no reason to serve you!"

"I heard you confirm that," Xemnas sighed as he slowly lowered his weapon, much to Saix's surprise. "That one snowy day, you were sitting with that girl on the rooftop. It was all because of her that I was so easily discarded."

"It's too late to say that you have feelings in all this!" Saix shouted as he shifted the weapon from his right to his left. He wildly swung it towards Xemnas, who jumped back and dodged the blow. "There is no point in continuing this madness. You've _lost_." He tried to land yet another hit, but Xemnas simply stepped aside for the attack to miss.

"I can't accept a loss this early," Xemnas answered. Saix tried attacking a third time, but his weapon was easily tossed aside after a parry. With blazing amber eyes, he ended their confrontation. "I want you to tell that girl something."

* * *

Usually not being the patient type, he sat on the grass, stabbing his surroundings with a twig. When it broke, he'd break another stick off of a nearby twig and continue. His companion, however, was calmly taking his time and eating a few potato chips to satisfy a hungry stomach. He gazed upwards towards the cherry blossom tree and silently admired its radiance. It didn't really matter whether having his quarters so close to Marluxia's made the quality rub off on him. It was common to slow down and appreciate nature from time to time. However, this was an exception to Xigbar.

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Xigbar asked irritably as he kicked one of the nearby sakura trees. "Nothing is happening to this god-forsaken…place! Everyone is off looking for the bastard known as Xemnas, and there's not a single electronic device for miles! And where the heck are Demyx and Saix!? Does it really take that much time to make a portal and step through it? If things are taking this long, then what the hell was the reason for taking the van anyway?"

"Well, Saix wanted to flaunt his ability to drive and we wanted to see what it was like to ride inside a modern vehicle," Luxord answered with an impish grin. "Though I really don't see what the point of either was because no one would happen to appreciate something like driving a car, and traveling via portal would be faster and much more sufficient."

"I lost you at 'well,'" Xigbar shrugged.

Had they more time, the two would've extended the argument almost indefinitely, although a loud shriek was heard from inside the building. Xigbar rushed inside and found Yukina with a horrified expression upon her face and a basket filled with food sprawled out all over the floor. His jaw slacked when he saw a blond musician lying in a growing puddle of blood and a former berserker with two of his limbs bent at an impossible angle. From the look of things, the two wouldn't make it if they weren't given the proper treatment.

"No…No! This can't be happening! This just can't!" Sapphire eyes swelling with tears, she fell to her knees as Ienzo walked over to the two on the floor and knelt to examine their injuries. But Yukina's cries had filled the air with doubt. Doubt that the two wouldn't make it. The very sight of the two had felt like a knife being twisted right into her heart. Pale, trembling, cold hands went to her mouth. "You both…still have lives to live! You can't leave just yet! Don't leave me—"

(_I'm done with being so selfish. I'm not the only one who would be affected by this. And I can't just ask for something and wait for it to happen. I'm done not being able to do anything about this.)_

"Saix-sama! Demyx-nii! Just hang on!" She frantically reached for her cellphone, but she realized that there was no signal out in the countryside. She didn't bother listening to words that must have come from Ienzo. Without anything else to do, she dropped her phone and clasped her hands together, looking as if she didn't, she might just fall apart from grief. (_Please! Please! Please make it! Please make it through!_)

* * *

Ienzo gasped as he could actually tell that their scents were fading. He realized that these two, along with himself, seemed the closest to Yukina since they first met. If they weren't able to pull through, then how would Yukina feel about all of this? Suddenly, he felt something weakly grasp his ankle. He looked down to see Demyx barely breathing. The blue-haired young man felt a twinge of relief for Demyx remaining alive. He was almost looking forward to what Demyx had to say. A sarcastic comment, a slight joke would do. Almost anything would be enough. _Almost._

"Don't…you dare…forget…"

Those words slammed into him violently. He was about to ask Demyx what he meant by that, except Demyx closed his eyes once more. His heart started beating rapidly as he came up with possible reasons or meanings behind those words. Ienzo realized that Demyx's tone sounded heavy and he knew that there was anxiety in the voice. It was then he realized what the musician meant. _(Demyx-san…I've always been irritated with you, and apparently, you've reciprocated_.)

Suddenly, Saix and Demyx were engulfed in an emerald light that faded away after a few moments. "What the hell just happened?" Roxas asked as he stumbled downstairs, light blue colored ice cream in hand. "Why are Saix and Demyx on the floor?"

Not wasting any time, Ienzo tried checking their wrists. "Well, it seems that whatever that light was has saved the both of them. Their scents have stopped fading as well." Suddenly, all eyes fell on the two that were lying on the floor unconscious. He had already known the correct assumption that everyone had.

They both had received their hearts.

A long silence followed, but Yukina paid no heed to any of it. She ran over and cradled Demyx in her arms and started shedding tears out of her sapphire eyes. She was grateful to whoever was up there that both of them were safe. Everyone else merely stood aside and fidgeted where they stood. For some, they gritted their teeth in frustration. The two most unlikely people had received their hearts before they did. Was that supposed to say something to them?

"D-Did you just…check their pulse?" Xigbar asked, shaken by the turn of events. He knew that all of them were secretive to an extent, yet none of them knew of a secret this big until now.

"In fact, I just did, Xigbar," answered the blue-haired young man frankly. "Come what may, I hope that you won't make this an excuse for you all to exclude them from your activities. But I wouldn't be surprised if you all did, you've already done that to me and Sakuya-san."

"I-Ienzo-kun, what do you mean by that?" Yukina asked as she looked up. Her eyes widened with realization of what was really going on. It was only now that she knew why everyone seemed different despite the fact that they acted like any other person. She knew why they acted secretive around her and Ienzo. Yukina knew the reason for everything.

* * *

Just happening on the scene dragging on, he decided to put an end to it and let them all move on with the day. He simply strode inside the building and draped one of Saix's arms around him and dragged slowly him upstairs. "This is one hell of an early funeral."

"Sakuya-san, go upstairs," Ienzo requested. "I don't think that Demyx will recover from this if we don't let him rest up on his own. Just leave it to us."

The majority of the day was spent in a dreary fashion. With fruitless results of trying to find Xemnas, they all returned and were told the news by Ienzo. Just as silent as the rest, they all found themselves staring out the windows to find cherry blossom trees. It seemed as if a large gray cloud haunted the entire building and affected everyone inside it. They all had rooms to themselves and liked it that way. The solitude reminded them of what it was like before a certain someone had dropped by in their lives.

However, Yukina decided that she would stay by Demyx's bedside and wait for him to wake up. She held Demyx's hand in both of hers as she silently thought to herself. She suddenly jumped when the door slid open and she heard footsteps. Giving a melancholy sigh, the red spiky haired young man closed the door and waited for Yukina to turn around and acknowledge his presence. He had something to say to her.

"Oh, umm…good afternoon, Axel-kun," Yukina greeted as her smile slowly disappeared. Then she took a quick glance towards Demyx, who wasn't stirred by the pyro's arrival.

"You do realize that this is pretty much all your fault, right?" Axel stated outright as he leaned against the closed door. He was known for being ambiguous and vague, so this was clearly a shocker for Yukina. He realized that if everyone would keep calling her an idiot, then she should be treated as one. "If you hadn't shown up like you did, we probably wouldn't be having these problems. You seem to have no problem accepting this, just like you accept everything else. You don't give a damn about whatever people think about you, yet everyone treats you like some kind of hero. Things like this make me wonder why the hell they happen in the first place." He fiddled around with a harmless flame in hand and mused. When he looked back to the girl on the other side of the room, he realized that she was bowing to him. (_What the hell?_)

"Axel-kun…" Yukina stammered as she stood up straight and looked to the floor. "If…all of that is true, then…" she slowly smiled, surprising the young pyro. "I guess I really am an idiot." She smiled softly and continued. "I'm a little selfish, I know that much. Probably a little conceited too. Maybe both you and Xemnas-sama have realized this. I constantly think that a kind demeanor is all that it takes to truly understand someone. I don't really know how to answer that myself. But I need to face facts. That's probably what you have been doing all this time."

It took Axel a few more hints from Yukina and realization of his fidgeting that he was actually blushing a few shades redder than normal. "No one likes to stick around in one place forever. That's why I stuck with Roxas. He's the only level-headed one that seems to understand our dilemma." He gave a cocky grin, his signature gesture, before looking at the musician lying in bed. Axel disliked his nature as a nobody. Despite that, he tried to adapt anyway. Even without a heart, his personality could still show. So of course he would seem to stick out in the Organization. But his case was almost entirely different from Roxas'. When Roxas returned to Twilight Town after his creation, one look could give anyone the impression that he was lonely. (_So of course we ended up becoming friends. He's better than the brat on the floor, that's for sure.)_ "So, uhh…how long is he going to stay like that?"

Yukina examined Demyx before coming to a conclusion. "That phenomenon may have saved him from the worst of it, but due to the lack of blood, it may take him days until he finally regains consciousness."

"You may be conceited," Axel stated out from the blue. "But you care about everyone else a whole lot more than yourself." A genuine smile followed, and Axel quickly looked in the other direction to avoid eye contact. "DAMMIT!" He suddenly kicked the door and nearly knocked it off the wall it was attached to. "No wonder everyone likes you so much! You wear your emotions on your sleeves too damn much…"

"Axel-kun, everyone was being nice to me, because I was being kind to them. But you were being straightforward…" Yukina started scratching her head, as if signaling something. "But…because you're so straightforward, I have to ask you something…"

"No need to thank me—what? What do you need?"

* * *

An irritated Ienzo ended up tapping his foot in frustration as he swiftly flipped through the pages in his book, reading through them, but ignoring any further reflection on the words. Vexen and Lexaeus merely watched as their former teammate gave constant signs of being irked. His attempts now differed from that of before in which these were much less subtle.

"If everyone was going to come her in the first place, then what was the point of Sakuya-san using perfectly good money to order us tickets?" Ienzo questioned with gritted teeth. Observing his two companions out of the corner of his eye, he could only give himself a mental sigh as he didn't want to give any more obvious signs of annoyance. "If you want to say something to me go ahead, it's not as if there's anything to hide…" He saw Vexen straighten up his posture while Lexaeus simply looked in another direction with stone-hard mien. "…is there?"

"Vexen, you should tell him," Lexaeus requested, arms crossed. Of course he was the one with the least amount of words to say. Yet, when it came to the trio, he seemed like the most levelheaded one, simply because he was the one to mediate his companions' quarrels. He wanted to get through this ordeal as quickly as possible.

"Alright, alright…" Vexen groaned. (_Why am I always stuck with the explanations?_) He ran a hand through his fading blond hair before reluctantly starting. "You remember how Yukina was left mentally unstable following your break in attempt at the castle, correct?" Ienzo nodded, albeit his head still being stuck in the book's pages. "It seems that her tormentor will be arriving shortly, if you haven't deduced that already." (_I can't help but feel as if I'm the last one to hear about these things…)_

"I've known about something like that for some time, but I've never bothered doing anything about it," Ienzo replied, closing his book. "So…Xemnas is on the move, isn't he?"

"How did you know his name!?" a visibly shocked Vexen shouted.

Ienzo chuckled, an intrigued smirk upon his face. "This is just like it used to be. Us three simply enjoying each others' company, you would tell me something I already know, and you would go into ballistics over it while Lexaeus is as silent as ever. If only things were as simple as it was back then…" He looked over and saw Vexen even more shocked than he was mere moments ago, and Lexaeus crossed his arms in confusion. "Aren't we getting cold feet?"

"I really am the last to know about these things…" Vexen complained as he stood up from his seat. "With your memory returned and all, it seems we just have to wait for Xemnas to strike, and you would come up with a good counter measure for it. That would certainly seem like the best answer for this particular situation…"

"You're taking this lightly, aren't you?" Ienzo exchanged an amused smirk for an annoyed scowl. "In any case, this scenario won't be played out like a chess game." Vexen stared at Lexaeus, hoping to see if he was catching on, but saw an unchanging face. Distressed, Vexen simply waited for the next statement. "While players in a chess game would take turns, Xemnas will find any opening and use it to his advantage. I fear that he would be going for the queen if the rest of us were all foot soldiers…"

"Queen?" Vexen repeated, frustrated with the idioms, the bibliophile was throwing out. But it didn't take him long to figure out who the queen was. "Are you sure he would be using such a cowardly tactic? I doubt he'd gain anything by harming Yukina."

"He's already injured Saix and Demyx, so we can't take any chances!" Ienzo shouted, the side of his fist colliding sharply with the wall. "We can't let anyone else get injured for the sake of quelling Xemnas' rage! Especially not…her." Ienzo suddenly found that his hand couldn't form a fist anymore. Just letting his hand fall by his side, he leaned back on the wall and sighed. "If we lose her now, then everything that we've worked for would be for nothing. It's because of her that we've gotten so far."

"Hey, Ienzo…" Vexen was about to continue when Lexaeus dragged the scientist out of the room silently.

"That's right. It's only because of her that I've gotten my heart back. I can't risk Xemnas taking her away from us again." His eyes widened momentarily as he materialized a familiar black lexicon in his hand. "Yukina will be safe, because…I'll kill that bastard if I ever see him again…"

* * *

((Last chapter in maybe two or three. Seeing as no reviews are showing up, I figured I shouldn't just drag this on, if no one will read this. I'm just going to tie up some loose ends, be done with it, and see if my next story will be any good. I really do have to thank everyone for sticking with me for the most part, and maybe I'll write a better story next time. Hopefully I'll see those reviews again soon. Until next time!))


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